The prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in Australia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

BackgroundChlamydia trachomatis is a common sexually transmitted infection in Australia. This report aims to measure the burden of chlamydia infection by systematically reviewing reports on prevalence in Australian populations.MethodsElectronic databases and conference websites were searched from 1997–2011 using the terms ‘Chlamydia trachomatis’ OR ‘chlamydia’ AND ‘prevalence’ OR ‘epidemiology’ AND ‘Australia’. Reference lists were checked and researchers contacted for additional literature. Studies were categorised by setting and participants, and meta-analysis conducted to determine pooled prevalence estimates for each category.ResultsSeventy-six studies met the inclusion criteria for the review. There was a high level of heterogeneity between studies; however, there was a trend towards higher chlamydia prevalence in younger populations, Indigenous Australians, and those attending sexual health centres. In community or general practice settings, pooled prevalence for women <25 years in studies conducted post-2005 was 5.0% (95% CI: 3.1, 6.9; five studies), and for men <30 years over the entire review period was 3.9% (95% CI: 2.7, 5.1; six studies). For young Australians aged <25 years attending sexual health, family planning or youth clinics, estimated prevalence was 6.2% (95% CI: 5.1, 7.4; 10 studies) for women and 10.2% (95% CI: 9.5, 10.9; five studies) for men. Other key findings include pooled prevalence estimates of 22.1% (95% CI: 19.0, 25.3; three studies) for Indigenous women <25 years, 14.6% (95% CI: 11.5, 17.8; three studies) for Indigenous men <25 years, and 5.6% (95% CI: 4.8, 6.3; 11 studies) for rectal infection in men who have sex with men. Several studies failed to report basic demographic details such as sex and age, and were therefore excluded from the analysis.ConclusionsChlamydia trachomatis infections are a significant health burden in Australia; however, accurate estimation of chlamydia prevalence in Australian sub-populations is limited by heterogeneity within surveyed populations, and variations in sampling methodologies and data reporting. There is a need for more large, population-based studies and prospective cohort studies to compliment mandatory notification data.

Prevalence of genitalChlamydia trachomatisin Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…They also reported a high level of heterogeneity among their included studies and a higher prevalence rate in younger populations, indigenous Australians and those attending sexual health centres. 52 In another systematic review and meta-analysis survey about females performed in the United Kingdom, healthcare settings had higher prevalence estimates than those in population-based studies because studies performed in general practice surgeries had an overall high chlamydia prevalence of 8.1% (95% CI; range: 6.5-9.9%) compared with 5.0% in population-based studies (95% CI; range: 3.2-7.6%). The authors also declared that age and study setting were variables with the most influence on the prevalence rate of this bacterium.…”

Human and Pathogen Factors Associated with Chlamydia trachomatis-Related Infertility in Women

“…Genital Chlamydia infection is asymptomatic in over 70% of the cases, and as a result, few population-based prevalence or incidence estimates are available (5). Available population-based data from the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom suggest that between 3 and 5% of people under 30 years of age will have a Chlamydia infection at any point in time (6)(7)(8)(9)(10). Estimates of the incidence of disease sequelae (specifically, PID, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility in women) are lacking, largely because there are very few natural-history studies of Chlamydia infections in humans.…”

Prevalência da infecção endocervical de Chlamydia trachomatis em universitárias do estado do Pará, Região Amazônica, Brasil

“…A Chlamydia trachomatis é responsável pela infecção sexualmente transmissível (IST) bacteriana mais prevalente no mundo, além de ser a causa mais comum de infertilidade evitável e frequentemente identificada nos grandes centros urbanos 1,2,3,4 . Possui 19 genótipos, que estão relacionados a três formas clinicamente distintas dessa infecção: o tracoma, causado pelos genótipos A, B, Ba e C, considerado a principal causa de cegueira evitável no mundo 5 ; o linfogranuloma venéreo, causado pelos genótipos L1, L2, L2a e L3, uma IST que se estabelece predominantemente com caráter invasivo; e manifestações clínicas bem específicas, como a linfadenopatia inguinal 6 .…”