Prevalence of chlamydial antibody in pregnancy

Abstract

In this matched-pair study 139 pregnant women were matched on the basis of age to an equal number of non-pregnant women with no signs of genital infection. The mean age was 28.7 years (range 20-41). The cut-offs used for detection of chlamydial antibody were 1:64 and 1:128 for IgG and 1:16 for IgA. IgG antibody at 64 was detected in 37.4% of pregnant women, compared to 46% of controls (p = 0.145). There was, however, a statistically significant difference between the groups for IgG at 128 (gravidae = 15.8%; controls = 28%; p = 0.014). IgA were detected in 8.6% and 16.5% of subjects, respectively (p = 0.047). IgG levels did not vary with increasing age among the pregnant women, but rose significantly with age in non-pregnant controls (logistic regression p-values = 0.011 and 0.006, for IgG at 64 and 128, respectively). IgG-positive women in the control group tended to be older than pregnant IgG-positive women (p = 0.06). These differences could not be explained by marital status, parity or use of oral contraceptives. In view of the lack of epidemiological differences, biological explanations might be invoked.

Detection of <i>Chlamydia trachomatis</i> in Pregnant Women by the Papanicolaou Technique, Enzyme Immunoassay and Polymerase Chain Reaction

“…The infection also tends to be most frequent in women who have become sexually active at an early age, have had various sexual partners and have a previous history of sexually transmitted diseases. [39][40][41]53,61 In this study the average age of infected women was 24 years old; the age at first sexual contact was, on average, 21 years; 66.66% were single, and 100% were in the third trimester of pregnancy. All these data are in agreement with the work cited above.…”