the relationship of cervicovaginal infections in pap smear samples with some factors in ahvaz, iran; an epidemiological study

background cervicovaginal infections are the most common causes of refereeing to clinics and health centers. objectives the primary aim of present study was to determine the prevalence of genital infections in pap smear specimens and its relationship with variables such as age and contraceptive methods. materials and methods this was a cross-sectional study that carried out in 2010 in ahvaz, iran. the number of 1353 pap smear reports were selected from ahvaz pathology laboratories using cluster sampling. data were analyzed using chi square and anova tests in spss. results the results of study showed that the prevalence of cervicovaginal infections was 10.4 on which, 8.2% of them were candida, 1.4% were trichomonas and 0.8% were gardnerella. in 87.3% of cases various degrees of inflammation of 1+ to 4+ grades were reported. there was no relationship between age and cervical infection or inflammation. there was no significant relationship between infection' type and inflammation rate and age. there was significant correlation between contraceptive methods and reports of cervicovaginal infections and inflammation. conclusions the cervicovaginal infections have association with use of contraceptins. for prevention of recurrent infections and precancerous cervical changes, women with risk factors for cervical cancer are recommended to make informed choices about contraceptive methods.