SOMATIC SYMPTOMS AND RELATED FACTORS OF EARLY-AGE MARRIAGE AMONG WOMEN: A POPULATION-BASED CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Year 2016, Volume: 7 Issue: 25, - , 30.03.2016

Mahmut Bulut , Mehmet Kaya , Yasin Bez Mehmet Güneş , Abdullah Atlı Süleyman Demir , Aslıhan Okan İbiloğlu , Cem Uysal Aytekin Sır

Abstract

Aim: Child marriage still persists for various reasons in numerous countries and cultures including primarily the underdeveloped or developing countries in South Asia and  North Africa.  In this  study,  our  aim  is  to  focus  on  the  frequency  of  child  marriage  as  well as  the  family  characteristics  and  socio-cultural  factors  pertaining  to marriage,  frequency  of  domestic  violence,  and  somatic  symptoms  such  as  pain  of  unknown origin  among  the  women.

Methods: Our study was conducted using a questionnaire presented to 454 women aged 17-65 living in the provincial centre of Diyarbakir.

Results: The families of 17.3% of the participants had a history of migration before the marriage. Close-kin  marriage  was  present  between  the  parents  of  31.1%  of  the  women.  Among  the  participants,  17.3%  were  subjected  to  physical  abuse  and  1.8% were subjected to sexual abuse before the marriage. Among  the  women,  33.3%  replied  that  they  had  chronic  pain  of  unknown  origin  which  the physicians  could  not  diagnose.

Conclusions: We have observed that chronic pains of unknown origin pointing to somatisation are more frequent among women who get married  before  the  age  of  18.  The  results  of  our  study  point  out  that  underage  marriage  has  an  impact  not  only  on  sexual  and  reproductive  health,  but  also  on  general  health.

Key Words: Early age marriage, health consequences, pain of unknown origin

Keywords

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