Vaginal specimens for culture of group B Streptococcus and anonymous questionnaires were obtained from 499 college women. Group B Streptococcus was isolated from 90 (18.0%) of the participants. A selective broth medium was more sensitive for detection of vaginal isolates (85 of 493; 17.2%) than was direct inoculation of blood agar plates (44 of 466; 9.4%). The most prevalent serotypes among the isolates were type III (37.9%) and type II (25.3%). Logit analysis identified four factors associated with a higher prevalence of vaginal colonization with group B Streptococcus. These organisms were isolated significantly more often from (1) women who had an intrauterine device (50% vs. 18.6%; P less than 0.001), (2) sexually experienced women (20% vs. 7.1%; P less than 0.02), (3) women studied during the first half of the menstrual cycle (26.5% vs. 14.5%; P less than 0.01), and (4) women 20 years of age or younger (21.4% vs. 14.8%; P less than 0.05). The prevalence of colonization with group B Streptococcus was not related to sexual practices, history of venereal disease, use of oral contraceptives, presence of gynecologic symptoms, use of antibiotics, race, educational level, marital status, or history of pregnancy.
Vaginal cultures for Corynebacterium vaginale and confidential questionnaires were obtained from unselected young women who consulted a gynecologist in a student health service. In all, 466 women were studied, 150 (32.2%) of whom were colonized with C. vaginale. Logit analysis defined four factors that were significantly associated with colonization with C. vaginale: nonwhite race, use of oral contraceptives, no history of marriage, and a history of pregnancy. Sexual experience had little influence on colonization; C. vaginale was isolated from 16 (29%) of 56 sexually inexperienced women and from 40 (41%) of 98 women who had had intercourse with six or more men. After a few patients with trichomoniasis were excluded, there was no association between colonization with C. vaginale and an abnormal vaginal discharge, either as reported by the participant or as noted by the examining physician.
Chlamydia trachomatis was isolated from genital specimens from 21 (4.9%) of 431 female college students. Antibody to C. trachomatis was found in the genital secretions of 52 (11.9%) of 437 women. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed race, number of sexual partners, and use of barrier methods of contraception to be predictive of infection with C. trachomatis. Logistic regression analysis found race, number of sexual partners, use of barrier methods of contraception, and presence of cervical erythema to be predictive of local chlamydial antibody. White participants were infected less often (12 of 388 (3.1%)) than black participants (9 of 43 (20.9%)) (p less than 0.001) and were less likely to have local chlamydial antibody. None of the sexually inexperienced women were infected or had local antibody. Among the sexually experienced women, chlamydial infection and local chlamydial antibody increased with increasing number of sexual partners only for women who were not using barrier methods of contraception. Sexually experienced women who used barrier methods of contraception (condom, diaphragm) were less likely to be infected (one of 105 (1.0%)) than were sexually experienced women who used other contraceptive measures or who did not use contraception (20 of 276 (7.2%)) (p = 0.031). Women who used barrier methods of contraception also were less likely to have local chlamydial antibody. Women with cervical erythema were more likely to have local chlamydial antibody (4 of 11 (36.4%)) than women without cervical erythema (48 of 426 (11.3%)). Vaginal colonization with other sexually transmitted microorganisms (Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Trichomonas vaginalis) was noted more often among women with chlamydial infection than among uninfected women.
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