Epidemiology and Risk Factors of Bacterial Vaginosis in Women Visiting the Gynecologic Clinic of Bahonar Hospital of Kerman University of Medical Sciences in 2002

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is characterized by excessive growth of anaerobic bacteria in the vaginal flora. Previous studies have shown that patients with BV have a substantially increased risk for serious complications such as chorioamnionitis, PROM, amniotic fluid infection, preterm delivery, low birth weight infants, and endometritis following cesarean and vaginal delivery. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology and risk factors of BV in women visiting the Gynecologic Clinic of Bahonar Hospital of Kerman University of Medical Sciences. All non-pregnant patients who presented with a complaint of vaginal discharge to the Gynecologic Clinic of Bahonar Hospital in the study period were enrolled in this study. After taking history and performing physical examinations Whiff test and microscopic examination of vaginal fluid were performed and vaginal pH was determined using pH test tapes. BV was diagnosed according to Amsel criteria. In this study, 130 non-pregnant women visiting the Gynecologic Clinic of Bahonar Hospital in 2002 were examined for BV. BV was diagnosed in 49 women (37.7%). BV was not correlated to age and BMI (p>0.05). Patients with BV had significantly lower educational (p=0.006) and socio-economic (p=0.021) levels. There was a direct statistically significant correlation between BV and smoking (p=0.033). BV did not have any significant correlation with current marital status or parity (p>0.05). The prevalence of BV was higher in patients who had a history of abortion than in women who did not report such history, but the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.070). There was a statistically significant association between lack of usage of contraceptive pills and BV (p=0.035). BV was more prevalent in women who used IUDs than in other women (71.4% vs. 38.3%), though this difference did not attain statistical significance (p=0.091). There were positive associations between occurrence of BV and history of vaginal infection (p<0.001), history of preterm delivery (p<0.001), and history of PROM (p=0.028). BV, the most common cause of vaginal discharge in women of childbearing age, is seen with a relatively high frequency in our patients. This condition is associated with various obstetric and gynecological complications. It is therefore necessary to perform screening and possibly treatment in highrisk patients.