Prevalence of bacterial vaginosis in Portuguese pregnant women and vaginal colonization byGardnerella vaginalis

Abstract

BackgroundWe aimed to determine the prevalence of vaginal colonization byGardnerella vaginalisand of bacterial vaginosis (BV) in Portuguese pregnant women, and to identify risk factors for BV andG. vaginaliscolonization in pregnancy.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant women aged ≥ 18 years who were attending in two public hospitals of the Northwest region of Portugal. Epidemiological data was collected by anonymous questionnaire. BV was diagnosed by Nugent criteria andG. vaginalispresence was identified by polymerase chain reaction. Crude associations between the study variables and BV orG. vaginaliscolonization were quantified by odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsThe prevalences of BV and ofG. vaginaliscolonization among Portuguese pregnant women were 3.88% and 67.48%, respectively. Previous preterm delivery and colonization byG. vaginaliswere factors with very high OR, but only statistically significant for a 90% CI. Conversely, higher rates ofG. vaginaliscolonization were found in women with basic educational level (OR = 2.77, 95% CI [1.33–5.78]), during the second trimester of pregnancy (OR = 6.12, 95% CI [1.80–20.85]) and with BV flora (OR = 8.73, 95% CI [0.50–153.60]).DiscussionDespite the lower number of women with BV, prevalence ratios and association with risk factors were similar to recent European studies. However, the percentage of healthy women colonized byG. vaginaliswas significantly higher than many previous studies, confirming thatG. vaginaliscolonization does not always lead to BV development.