Estimates of the incidence, prevalence, and factors associated with common sexually transmitted infections among Lebanese women

Chemaitelly H. Finan R.R. Racoubian E. Aimagambetova G. Almawi W.Y.
April 2024 Public Library of Science

PLoS ONE
2024 #19 Issue 4 April

Background We analyzed the prevalence of active infection with common curable sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including N. gonorrhea, C. trachomatis, T. vaginalis, and T. pallidum, as well as active infection with HPV, herpes simplex virus types I (HSV-1) and II (HSV-2), M. hominis, M. genitalium, C. albicans, and Ureaplasma in 351 Lebanese women. Methods A cross-sectional study, involving 351 sexually active women, 40 years or younger, who were recruited from outpatient Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic attendees between September 2016 and November 2017. Results The prevalence of active infection was low at 0.3% for N. gonorrhea, 0.6% for HSV-2, 2.8% for C. trachomatis, and 2.9% for any curable STIs. Prevalence of active HPV infection was high assessed at 15.7% for high-risk and 12.2% for low-risk genotypes. Furthermore, the prevalence was 2.0% for M. genitalium, 6.8% for ureaplasma, 13.7% for Candida albicans, and 20.5% for M. hominis. No active infections with T. vaginalis, T. pallidum, or HSV-1 were observed. Significant age differences were noted in the prevalence of high-risk and low-risk HPV genotypes, but no such differences were noted in the prevalence of other infections. No appreciable variations were identified in the prevalence of key STIs based on smoking, marital status, or the number of sexual partners. Conclusions The study documented active infection with substantial prevalence for multiple STIs among women attending outpatient gynecology and obstetrics clinics in Lebanon. These findings underscore the importance of strengthening STI surveillance, linkage to care, and prevention interventions in reducing STI incidence among women.

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Infectious Disease Epidemiology Group, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Cornell University, Doha, Qatar
Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hôtel Dieu de France, CHU Université St. Joseph, Beirut, Lebanon
St. March Medical and Diagnostic Center, Beirut, Lebanon
Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada
Faculty of Sciences, El Manar University, Tunis, Tunisia

Infectious Disease Epidemiology Group
Department of Population Health Sciences
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
St. March Medical and Diagnostic Center
Department of Surgery
Department of Biological Sciences
Faculty of Sciences

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