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Sex Transm Infect 2002;78:e4 doi:10.1136/sti.78.4.e4
  • Electronic pages

Chlamydia trachomatis infection among sexually active young women in Italy

  1. M A Latino1,
  2. L Bello2,
  3. A Lanza2,
  4. E Leotta2,
  5. P Tersiev2,
  6. G De Intinis1,
  7. E Spagnolo1,
  8. C Smirne3,
  9. R Grio2
  1. 1AOU Virology and Microbiology, Department of Clinical Pathology, Azienda Ospedaliera Materno Infantile OIRM Sant’Anna, Via Ventimiglia, 3, Torino, Italy
  2. 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Turin, Azienda Ospedaliera Materno Infantile OIRM Sant’Anna, Via Ventimiglia, 3, Torino, Italy
  3. 3Department of Clinical Physiopathology, University of Turin, Azienda Ospedaliera Molinette, C so Bramante, 88, Torino, Italy
  1. Correspondence to:
 Luca Bello;
 lbello{at}inwind.it
  • Accepted 29 May 2002

Abstract

Objectives:Chlamydia trachomatis infection is the most common sexually transmitted disease among sexually active adolescents and young adults in Europe. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of C trachomatis among young women in Turin, Italy, and the correlation between some risk factors and C trachomatis infection.

Methods: In our study 3314 sexually active women between the ages of 14 and 25 were screened for C trachomatis by ligase chain reaction (LCR) using cervical swabs during the period 1997–2000 at the Turin School of Medicine. All the patients answered a specific questionnaire.

Results: In our analysis the prevalence of C trachomatis infection was found to be 3.5%, and the average age among the infected patients was 22.12 years. Statistical analysis was performed using the χ2 test. A p value <0.05 was considered significant. A correlation was found between a positive result and: membership of east European and central northern Africa populations (p<0.001), low levels of education (p<0.001), age at the first intercourse (p=0.006), the presence of symptoms in the women (p<0.001), and the number of sexual partners in the preceding 6 months (p<0.001). No statistically significant difference was found among the contraceptive methods used whether hormonal or a barrier type and with the subjective symptoms of the partner.

Conclusion: Frequent microbiological examinations are desirable for patients whose anamnesis shows an increased risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections in order to avoid long term complications from misdiagnosed or asymptomatic pathologies; this often happens with C trachomatis infection.

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