TIGHT-fitting jeans put women at risk of a genital condition, a study has found. Experts said those who wore them four or more times a week doubled their chance of vulvodynia, which causes chronic pain. Vulvodynia is chronic, unexplained, and debilitating vulva pain that impacts an estimated 16 percent of women over their lifetimes. The […]
TIGHT-fitting jeans put women at risk of a genital condition, a study has found.
Experts said those who wore them four or more times a week doubled their chance of vulvodynia, which causes chronic pain.
Vulvodynia is chronic, unexplained, and debilitating vulva pain that impacts an estimated 16 percent of women over their lifetimes.
The burning intensified in those who fully shaved the area, the US research of 434 women found.
Published in the Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease, it is the first study to show a link between clothing and grooming and the condition.
It said: “Tight-fit jeans create an environment that fosters genital tract infections, which are associated with vulva pain.”
Study leader Dr Bernard Harlow, of Boston University School of Medicine in the US, said: “With an increase in the prevalence of pubic hair removal directly from the vulvar region, particularly in adolescent girls, the microabrasions to this sensitive area may predispose young women to immune-inflammatory complications.
“Likewise, tight-fitting jeans or pants can create an environment that fosters genital tract infections, which have been shown to be associated with vulvar pain onset.”
Vulvodynia affects 16 per cent of women.
