Cytomegalovirus prevalence in pregnant women: the influence of parity.

Abstract

Over 20 000 women attending for antenatal care at three London hospitals were prospectively studied to determine the prevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) antibodies; 54-40/ of these women were CMV seropositive. Ethnic group was strongly associated with CMV status: 45*9%/e of white women were seropositive, 88-2% ofAsian, and 77*2% ofblack women (African/Caribbean ethnic origin). Among 12 159 white women born in the British Isles, seropositivity was independently associated with increasing parity, older age, lower social class, and being single at antenatal booking. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that, in the UK, child to mother transmission of infection plays a significant part in the acquisition of CMV infection in adult life.depend on a number of factors relating to breastfeeding, sexual and child rearing practices, which vary considerably between countries and social and ethnic groups. The relative importance of different modes of transmission of CMV in the UK is unknown, although there is some anxiety about the possibility of occupational risk for women working with young children.'0 The present analysis is based on data collected as part of a large prospective study of CMV infection in pregnancy carried out in west London between 1980 and 1986. The main aims of the study were to examine the CMV serological status of women booking for antenatal care, estimate the incidence of congenital CMV infection, and investigate its long term sequelae. This paper explores the independent effects of social class, marital status, age, and parity on maternal seroprevalence at antenatal booking. Subjects and methods All women booking for antenatal care at three west London hospitals were eligible for enrolment in the study, which continued for one year at the first hospital, two years at the second, and six and a half years at the third. Details of maternal age, parity, marital status, country of birth, race, and both maternal and paternal occupation were collected by interview at the first antenatal appointment, together with a blood sample to establish CMV serological status. Sera were tested for CMV antibodies by complement fixation, and detection of specific antibody at a dilution of 1:10 was taken to indicate past CMV infection. While this assay may be less sensitive than others now available, it is acceptable for epidemiological purposes; any slight inaccuracy in the overall estimation of seroprevalence will not affect the internal comparison of results presented here. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is common worldAnalysis of the whole dataset was carried out using SAS." A grouped binomial relative risk regression'2 was performed on a subset of the data, white women bom in the British Isles, to explore the independent roles of parity, marital status, social class, and age. Women were assigned to five parity groups, ranging from those who had no previous children to those who had four or more.Two marital status groups were defined: one comprising women who were married or cohabiting at the time they boo...

Seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus among pregnant women attending Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital Kano, Nigeria

“…This finding is contrary to a study among pregnant women in London which reported high (88.2%) seroprevalence in first pregnancies among women. 25 The high seroprevalence we observed could be due to reactivation or re-infection with different strains of CMV. Most Nigerian women have more than one child and love to be around children from other families even when they are pregnant, some shedding the virus, which underscores the problem of silent viral infection during pregnancy.…”

Cytomegalovirus-associated anterior segment infection

“…In recent years, more and more cases of CMV infection of the anterior segment have been recognized in immunocompetent people also. In developed countries, the seroprevalence of CMV is approximately 50%, whereas it is approximately 90% in lessdeveloped regions [1][2][3][4]. Hence, not surprisingly, most of these cases have been from Asian countries, where there is a large reservoir of dormant CMV.…”

Hearing Loss and Congenital CMV Infection: A Systematic Review

“…13,14 Maternal seroprevalence depends on age, socioeconomic status, and parity. [15][16][17] But between industrialized countries there are clear differences in prevalence, probably because of race-bound predilection in addition to differences in sexual behavior, day care attendance, breastfeeding, and profession. 18,19 Spreading of CMV occurs through close contact with infected body fluids.…”