Epidemiology of undiagnosed trichomoniasis in a probability sample of urban young adults

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 9; no. 3; p. e90548
• Main Authors: Rogers, Susan M, Turner, Charles F, Hobbs, Marcia, Miller, William C, Tan, Sylvia, Roman, Anthony M, Eggleston, Elizabeth, Villarroel, Maria A, Ganapathi, Laxminarayana, Chromy, James R, Erbelding, Emily
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 13.03.2014; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; African Americans; Baltimore - epidemiology; Chlamydia; Chlamydia infections; Chlamydia Infections - complications; Disease transmission; Epidemiology; Female; Health aspects; Humans; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Parasitic diseases; Prevalence; Research and Analysis Methods; Sex Factors; Sexually transmitted diseases; STD; Surveys; Telephone; Trichomonas Infections - diagnosis; Trichomonas Infections - epidemiology; Trichomonas Infections - ethnology; Trichomonas vaginalis; Trichomoniasis; Urban areas; Urban Population; Urinalysis; Young Adult; Youth; Baltimore
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0090548

T. vaginalis infection (trichomoniasis) is the most common curable sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the U.S. It is associated with increased HIV risk and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Trichomoniasis surveillance data do not exist for either national or local populations. The Monitoring STIs Survey Program (MSSP) collected survey data and specimens which were tested using nucleic acid amplification tests to monitor trichomoniasis and other STIs in 2006-09 among a probability sample of young adults (N = 2,936) in Baltimore, Maryland--an urban area with high rates of reported STIs. The estimated prevalence of trichomoniasis was 7.5% (95% CI 6.3, 9.1) in the overall population and 16.1% (95% CI 13.0, 19.8) among Black women. The overwhelming majority of infected men (98.5%) and women (73.3%) were asymptomatic. Infections were more common in both women (OR = 3.6, 95% CI 1.6, 8.2) and men (OR = 9.0, 95% CI 1.8, 44.3) with concurrent chlamydial infection. Trichomoniasis did not vary significantly by age for either men or women. Women with two or more partners in the past year and women with a history of personal or partner incarceration were more likely to have an infection. Overall, these results suggest that routine T vaginalis screening in populations at elevated risk of infection should be considered.