Urogenital infections in relation to the occurrence of vulvodynia

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether antecedent urogenital infections and their frequency are associated with the development of vulvodynia. STUDY DESIGN: Data were obtained from a case-control study of 191 case and 171 control women in the Boston area from 2000 to 2005. Using questionnaire data, we examined self-reported urogenital infections occurring before onset of vulvar pain (cases) and reference age (controls), using unconditional logistic regression accounting for matched variables (current age and residence). RESULTS: Analysis was restricted to women reporting intercourse before first vulvar pain (cases) or reference age (controls). After adjusting for race, age at first intercourse, coital frequency and number of sex partners, a history of genital warts (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 3.4, 95% CI 1.3-8.8), trichomoniasis (OR = 5.7, 95% CI 1.1-29, urinary tract infection (OR = 2.0, 95% CI 1.3-3.1) or yeast infection (OR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.3-3.3) were associated with increased estimated risk for vulvodynia. With an increasing number of types of antecedent infections (1, 2 or 3+), ORs = 1.3, 2.6 or 8.3, respectively, were observed. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that diverse urogenital infections may precede onset of vulvodynia, with multiple assaults significantly compounding risk. However, prospective studies documenting urogenital infections and treatment are warranted.