Disentangling the complex association between female genital cutting and HIV among Kenyan women

Maslovskaya, O; Brown, JJ; Padmadas, SS

Disentangling the complex association between female genital cutting and HIV among Kenyan women

Maslovskaya, O Brown, JJ

Padmadas, SS

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Biosocial Science, 2009, 41 (6), pp. 815 - 830
Issue Date:: 2009-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Maslovskaya, O	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Brown, JJ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7535-2874	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Padmadas, SS	en_US
dc.date.issued	2009-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Biosocial Science, 2009, 41 (6), pp. 815 - 830	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0021-9320	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/27961
dc.description.abstract	Female genital cutting (FGC) is a widespread cultural practice in Africa and the Middle East, with a number of potential adverse health consequences for women. It was hypothesized by Kun (1997) that FGC increases the risk of HIV transmission through a number of different mechanisms. Using the 2003 data from the Kenyan Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), this study investigates the potential association between FGC and HIV. The 2003 KDHS provides a unique opportunity to link the HIV test results with a large number of demographic, social, economic and behavioural characteristics of women, including women's FGC status. It is hypothesized that FGC increases the risk of HIV infection if HIV/AIDS is present in the community. A multilevel binary logistic regression technique is used to model the HIV status of women, controlling for selected individual characteristics of women and interaction effects. The results demonstrate evidence of a statistically significant association between FGC and HIV, after controlling for the hierarchical structure of the data, potential confounding factors and interaction effects. The results show that women who had had FGC and a younger or the same-age first-union partner have higher odds of being HIV positive than women with a younger or same-age first-union partner but without FGC; whereas women who had had FGC and an older first-union partner have lower odds of being HIV positive than women with an older first-union partner but without FGC. The findings suggest the behavioural pathway of association between FGC and HIV as well as an underlying complex interplay of bio-behavioural and social variables being important in disentangling the association between FGC and HIV. © Cambridge University Press 2009.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Biosocial Science	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1017/S0021932009990150	en_US
dc.subject.classification	General Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Humans	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	HIV Seropositivity	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Circumcision, Female	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Health Surveys	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Risk Factors	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	HIV Seroprevalence	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Coitus	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Marital Status	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Age Factors	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Developing Countries	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Socioeconomic Factors	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Adolescent	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Adult	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Middle Aged	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Sexual Partners	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Kenya	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Female	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Statistics as Topic	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Young Adult	en_US
dc.title	Disentangling the complex association between female genital cutting and HIV among Kenyan women	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	6	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	41	en_US
utslib.for	0104 Statistics	en_US
utslib.for	1603 Demography	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	6	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	41	en_US

Abstract:

Female genital cutting (FGC) is a widespread cultural practice in Africa and the Middle East, with a number of potential adverse health consequences for women. It was hypothesized by Kun (1997) that FGC increases the risk of HIV transmission through a number of different mechanisms. Using the 2003 data from the Kenyan Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), this study investigates the potential association between FGC and HIV. The 2003 KDHS provides a unique opportunity to link the HIV test results with a large number of demographic, social, economic and behavioural characteristics of women, including women's FGC status. It is hypothesized that FGC increases the risk of HIV infection if HIV/AIDS is present in the community. A multilevel binary logistic regression technique is used to model the HIV status of women, controlling for selected individual characteristics of women and interaction effects. The results demonstrate evidence of a statistically significant association between FGC and HIV, after controlling for the hierarchical structure of the data, potential confounding factors and interaction effects. The results show that women who had had FGC and a younger or the same-age first-union partner have higher odds of being HIV positive than women with a younger or same-age first-union partner but without FGC; whereas women who had had FGC and an older first-union partner have lower odds of being HIV positive than women with an older first-union partner but without FGC. The findings suggest the behavioural pathway of association between FGC and HIV as well as an underlying complex interplay of bio-behavioural and social variables being important in disentangling the association between FGC and HIV. © Cambridge University Press 2009.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/27961