Prevalence of Mycoplasma genitalium and Ureaplasma urealyticum in pregnant women

Background: Sexually transmitted infections are the most common human infections that lead to severe complications. Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) and Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) are common and important cause of genitourinary tract infections. MG is a member of genital mycoplasmas which is emerging as an important causative agent of sexually transmitted infections both in males and females. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of UU and MG in pregnant women and to assess the risk factors which may contribute to the predisposition of the individuals to the infection. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, The population of 210 pregnant women admitted to the Rasoul Akram Hospital in Tehran, were selected for the study using non-random sampling. The urine specimens were collected from 194 pregnant women from May to December, 2015. The samples were transferred to the Infectious Disease Research Center of Rasoul Akram Hospital under sterile condition. Samples were exposed to DNA extraction followed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect the infection. Data including sex, age, history of abortion, history of genitourinary tract infections were collected subsequently. Results: The prevalence of MG and UU infections in urine samples was 5.6%, 11.2%, respectively. The mean and standard deviation of the risk of UU was 2.08 (3.56-1.22) in women with a history of abortion and 0.70 (1.03-0.47) in women without a history of abortion. There was a significant relationship between the history of sexually transmitted diseases and the frequency of UU (P<0.022). From 22 patients with UU infection, six patients had a history of sexually transmitted diseases. A significant correlation was found between prevalence of MG and UU infections. The History of abortion was significantly related with the frequency of UU and MG infections. The prevalence of MG infection is negatively correlated with pregnancy trimesters. The History of genitourinary tract infections was significantly associated with the frequency of UU. Conclusion: The presence of UU and MG could be associated with abortion.