Effect of female genital mutilation on mental health: a case–control study

Abstract

Objectives: The study aimed to investigate the mental health status of women with female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and compare it with that of a similar group of women without FGM/C.

Methods: A case–control study was carried out in 2018 among 122 women with FGM/C and 125 women without FGM/C who had been referred to one of the general health service centres in Kermanshah Province, western Iran. The 28 item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) was used to collect data on participants’ mental health. A multivariate logistic model with odds ratios (ORs) was used to determine the relationship of independent variables with the outcome variable, mental health status.

Results: The mean age of the FGM/C and control groups was 35.7 (standard deviation [SD] 8.6) and 31.3 (SD 7.2) years, respectively. According to the GHQ-28 questionnaire, 65.6% (n = 80) of the FGM/C group and 52% (n = 65) of the control group had symptoms of a mental health disorder; the difference between the groups was statistically significant (p = .03). The prevalence of severe depression in the FGM/C group was significantly higher than in the control group (p = .021). Multivariate logistic regression showed that having a history of FGM/C (adjusted OR 1.79; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05, 3.05) and being in employment (adjusted OR 3.46; 95% CI 1.23, 9.74) had a significant effect on presentation with symptoms of a mental health disorder (p < .05).

Conclusion: Women who suffer from FGM/C are more vulnerable to mental health disorders such as depression.

摘要

目的：该研究旨在调查生殖器切割 (FGM/C) 妇女的心理健康状况, 并将其与没有FGM/C的同类妇女进行比较。

方法：2018年, 在伊朗西部克尔曼沙赫省的一个综合卫生服务中心, 对122名生殖器切割妇女和125名未接受生殖器切割妇女进行了病例对照研究。采用28项一般健康问卷 (GHQ-28) 对受试者的心理健康状况进行调查。采用优势比 (ORS) 多元Logistic模型来确定自变量与结果变量--心理健康状况的关系。

结果：FGM/C组和对照组的平均年龄分别为35.7岁 (标准差[SD] 8.6)和31.3岁 (SD 7.2)。根据GHQ-28问卷,女性生殖器切割组和对照组分别有65.6% (n=80)和52% (n=65)出现心理健康障碍症状；两组之间的差异具有统计学意义(p=0.03)。女性生殖器切割组重度抑郁的患病率显著高于对照组(p=0.021)。多因素logistic回归分析显示, 有生殖器切割史(校正OR 1.79;95%置信区间[CI] 1.05、3.05) 且在职的女性(校正OR 3.46;95% CI 1.23, 9.74) 心理健康障碍症状更明显 (p<0.05)。

结论：女性生殖器切割者更容易患抑郁等心理健康障碍。

Keywords:

• Female genital mutilation
• Iran
• mental health
• women's health

Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank all the study participants. This article is based on a research project approved by the Deputy of Research and Technology of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences (contract no. 377/1396).