Risk factors

A number of factors might increase your risk of pelvic inflammatory disease, including:

• Being a sexually active woman younger than 25 years old
• Having multiple sexual partners
• Being in a sexual relationship with a person who has more than one sex partner
• Having sex without a condom
• Douching regularly, which upsets the balance of good versus harmful bacteria in the vagina and might mask symptoms
• Having a history of pelvic inflammatory disease or a sexually transmitted infection

There is a small increased risk of PID after the insertion of an intrauterine device (IUD). This risk is generally confined to the first three weeks after insertion.