Hormonal and barrier contraception and risk of upper genital tract diseasein the PID Evaluation and Clinical Health (PEACH) study

OBJECTIVE: Among women diagnosed with pelvic inflammatory disease, we exami ned the associations between hormonal or barrier methods of contraception a nd upper genital tract infection or inflammation. METHODS: Participants were 563 patients from a treatment trial for pelvic i nflammatory disease. All had pelvic pain; pelvic organ tenderness; and leuk orrhea, mucopurulent cervicitis, or untreated cervicitis. Contraceptive use within the prior 4 weeks was compared among women with baseline upper geni tal tract gonorrhea or chlamydia, women with endometritis without upper gen ital tract gonorrhea or chlamydia, and women with neither upper genital tra ct gonorrhea or chlamydia nor endometritis. RESULTS: Inconsistent condom use was significantly and independently associ ated with a 2 to 3 times elevated risk for upper genital tract infection. U pper genital tract gonorrhea or chlamydia was not significantly associated with use of oral contraceptives, use of medroxyprogesterone, condoms used c onsistently, nor other barrier methods. CONCLUSION: No hormonal or barrier contraceptive method was related to a re duction in upper genital tract disease among women with clinical pelvic inf lammatory diseases.