{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,19]],"date-time":"2026-09-19T16:06:18Z","timestamp":1789833978898,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,29]],"date-time":"2021-04-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1619654400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council","award":["GSA\/WSSCC\/80310\/2016\/0466"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["GSA\/WSSCC\/80310\/2016\/0466"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>A large proportion of women in Odisha, India, use reusable absorbents to manage their menstruation. Yet, the risk factors for lower reproductive tract infections (RTIs) related to menstrual hygiene management (MHM) have not been studied among reusable absorbent users. Women of reproductive age attending one of two hospitals from two different cities in Odisha during two separate study intervals were recruited for the study. Laboratory diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis (BV) and vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) were conducted. A questionnaire was used to collect information on MHM practices, water, sanitation, and socio-demographic factors. Among the 509 women who used reusable absorbents, 71.7% were diagnosed with at least one infection. After adjusting for confounders, women with BV were more likely to identify as being a housewife (aOR: 1.8 (1.1\u20132.9)). Frequent absorbent changing was protective against BV (aOR: 0.5 (0.3\u20130.8)), whereas frequent body washing increased the odds of BV (aOR: 1.5 (1.0\u20132.2)). Women with VVC were more likely to be older (aOR: 1.6 (1.0\u20132.5)), live below the poverty line (aOR: 1.5 (1.1\u20132.2)), have a non-private household latrine (aOR: 2.2 (1.3\u20134.0)), dry their absorbents inside the house (aOR: 3.7 (2.5\u20134.5)), and store absorbents in the latrine area (aOR: 2.0 (1.3\u20132.9)). Washing absorbents outside the house was protective against VVC (aOR: 0.7 (0.4\u20131.0)). This study highlights the importance of improving MHM practices among reusable absorbent users to prevent lower RTIs among women reusing menstrual materials in Odisha.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18094778","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,30]],"date-time":"2021-04-30T05:10:55Z","timestamp":1619759455000},"page":"4778","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":20,"title":["Identifying Risk Factors for Lower Reproductive Tract Infections among Women Using Reusable Absorbents in Odisha, India"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Padmalaya","family":"Das","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Biological Sciences, AIPH University, Bhubaneswar 752101, Odisha, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7880-7670","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Danielle","family":"Lisnek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3504-6132","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Krushna Chandra","family":"Sahoo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar 751023, Odisha, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shalini","family":"Sinha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Biological Sciences, AIPH University, Bhubaneswar 752101, Odisha, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"JyotiRanjan","family":"Mohanty","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Disease Surveillance Laboratory, Asian Institute of Public Health, Bhubaneswar 751002, Odisha, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pranati","family":"Sahoo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Biological Sciences, AIPH University, Bhubaneswar 752101, Odisha, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bibiana","family":"Bilung","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ispat General Hospital, Rourkela 769005, Odisha, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bijaya","family":"Panda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Capital Hospital, Bhubaneswar 751001, Odisha, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Clare","family":"Tanton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Belen","family":"Torondel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sumpter, C., and Torondel, B. 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