Prevalence of Trichomoniasis among 18–48 Year-old Women in Northwest of Iran

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to examine the prevalence of trichomoniasis among women aged 18 to 48 yr in Ardabil, northwestern Iran and the relationship between demographic factors and the risk of infection. METHODS: Vaginal discharge samples of 914 women aged 18 to 48 yr, referred to Gynecology Clinic of Sabalan Hospital of Ardabil, Iran in 2014, were collected and Trichomonas vaginalis infection was examined using wet mount and Dorset culture medium. In addition, demographic data was collected using a questionnaire as well as clinical examination, and analyzed with SPSS ver. 16, using Chi-square test, and t-test. RESULTS: Of the 914 samples studied, 3.38% by wet mount and 4.48% by parasite culture were infected by T. vaginalis. Sensitivity of direct or wet mount method was 75.6% compared to culture method (standard). We found a significant statistical relationship between trichomoniasis infection and preterm birth (P=0.011). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of trichomoniasis in Ardabil compared to global statistics (5%–74%) is low. Interestingly, the results of this study (4.84%) were consistent with the results obtained in Tabriz (4.46%).