Knowledge of cytomegalovirus infection among women in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common intrauterine congenital infection in humans. Worldwide seropositive rates of CMV are considerably high among women of childbearing age. There is currently no optimal drug treatment nor a vaccine for congenital CMV infection and therefore the best available program to date of prevention is practicing standard hygienic measures. The success of this program relies on women’s knowledge of CMV modes of transmissions, and risk and preventative behaviors. Objective The current study aims to assess the awareness and knowledge of CMV infection among women in Saudi Arabia. Method In this cross-sectional study, an online self-administered questionnaire was distributed to women 18 years of age or older residing in all regions of Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire included questions to assess awareness of CMV, knowledge of symptoms, transmission, and preventative measures of CMV infection. Results Out of the 1004 women who completed the questionnaire, self-reported knowledge of CMV was considerably low with only 82 women (8.17%) having heard of CMV infection. Most women reported learning about CMV from the internet and university. In binary logistic analyses, women pursuing studies in healthcare and those working in health professions, as well as those with undergraduate and graduate college degrees were significantly associated with higher knowledge of CMV. Urban area of residence was significantly associated with lower levels of knowledge of CMV. Among women who reported they had heard of CMV, their knowledge of CMV modes of transmission, symptoms, and preventative measures was considerably low. Regarding the transmission route, 23% reported no knowledge of modes of transmission, 59.75% reported mother-to-child transmission, 48.78% reported sexual intercourse, and 45% reported contact with body fluids of an infected person. Regarding knowledge of symptoms of congenital CMV, mental retardation and death were the most commonly reported clinical presentations. Conclusion The current study showed that the overall knowledge of CMV is very low among women in Saudi Arabia. Working in the healthcare field and higher education levels were significantly associated with better knowledge of CMV. It is crucial that women are provided with information regarding CMV-associated complications and preventative measures against mother-to-fetus transmission of CMV.

Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Prevention of Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection

“…Indeed, a study conducted in Japan between 2012 and 2016 showed no change in knowledge about the virus in the population of pregnant women, who maintained an extremely low knowledge rate over the study years (7% over 6 years) [46]. A low level of CMV-related knowledge was also found among woman of childbearing age and/or pregnant woman in other studies [45,[47][48][49][50]. This rate varies greatly from one country to another, with a percentage of knowledge of less than 20% reported in some studies conducted in Ireland, the USA, Holland, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Australia [32,[47][48][49][51][52][53].…”

“…A comparison between women's knowledge of CMV and knowledge of other infections or diseases that can infect the fetus has been conducted by some authors. All results showed that women's knowledge of CMV was much lower than their knowledge of toxoplasmosis or Down syndrome, which, however, have a lower incidence than CMV infection [44,48,50,53,56,57,59,60]. In the United States, the number of children born with cCMV and its long-term sequelae is estimated at 8600 per year, which is much higher than the number of children born over the same period with sequelae due to toxoplasmosis and Down syndrome (about 1000 and 4000 cases, respectively), which are diseases that are better known by women [59].…”

Association between cytomegalovirus seropositivity and all‐cause mortality: An original cohort study

“…Previous studies suggested slightly higher CMV seroprevalence in women, possibly due to lower awareness and preventive measures, especially among women of lower socioeconomic status. Additionally, the increase in all‐cause mortality linked to CMV may be influenced by the specific age distribution, with women being slightly older in our study 18–20 . The analysis by ethnicity showed that CMV was associated with higher mortality risks in all ethnic groups, but confidence intervals were wider in non‐Hispanic black and Mexican Americans due to smaller sample sizes.…”

“…Additionally, the increase in all-cause mortality linked to CMV may be influenced by the specific age distribution, with women being slightly older in our study. [18][19][20] The analysis by ethnicity…”

Prevalence of Cytomegalovirus infection among pregnant women with cord blood examination

“…Prevalence of CMV Infection Among Pregnant Women with Cord Blood Examination Africa with the following rates 30-90%, 58.3%, 94.4%, 80-90%, 92-100%, 60-100% respectively. 23 In Iraq several studies had been implemented to find out the prevalence of CMV among women which range from 77.3% in Babylon to 95.7% in Kirkuk, while in Erbil the prevalence was 100%. [24][25][26] The higher prevalence rate in the current study is in consistent with high prevalence rate in Iraq which is over 95%.…”