Objective: To investigate whether heavy load carrying, wearing a patuka, and body position at work are risk factors for uterine prolapse among Nepali women.
Methods: Community-based case-control study of 448 women (170 cases of uterine prolapse; 278 controls) aged 18-60 years in Kaski district, Nepal was conducted. Women diagnosed with uterine prolapse were cases. Two controls were recruited for each case, frequency-matched by residential area and age. Multivariate logistic regression was used to investigate associations between outcome and exposures.
Results: No association of heavy load carrying with uterine prolapse was observed; women who never used a patuka had lower odds of uterine prolapse (odds ratio = 0.18, 95% confidence interval = 0.05-0.71). Women working in a sitting position had higher odds than those working in a standing position (odds ratio = 2.94, 95% confidence interval = 1.74-4.96), as did women who mainly worked in a bending position (odds ratio = 2.45, 95% confidence interval = 1.12-5.34). Housewives were more prone to uterine prolapse than women engaged in farming (odds ratio = 2.13, 95% confidence interval = 1.31-3.47).
Conclusion: Using a patuka, occupation, and body position during work were all associated with uterine prolapse. No association was found with heavy load carrying, although that might be attributable to the cross-sectional nature of study recruitment.
Keywords: Nepal; case-control study; heavy-load carrying; patuka; uterine prolapse; work position.