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。
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.