Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis immunoglobulin G antibody in infertile women in Calabar

Abstract

Background: Genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection is recognized as the single most common cause of tubal peritoneal damage leading to infertility. Knowledge of the prevalence of Chlamydia antibodies among infertile women will help determine the level of Chlamydial infection and hence its contribution to infertility. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of C. trachomatis immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody in infertile patients and the sociodemographic characteristics and risk factors associated with infection in Calabar. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective comparative study conducted among 145 women presenting for infertility in UCTH Calabar. Another 145 women with normal pregnancies attending the antenatal clinic were used as controls. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA). A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The prevalence of C. trachomatis IgG antibody was 38.6% in the infertile group and 22.8% in the pregnant controls. This difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Infertile women aged 30–34 years had the highest positivity rate (36.0%) for C. trachomatis antibody. Thirty-eight (42.7%) of the infertile subjects who tested positive had a history of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) while 47 (23.4%) who tested negative had a history of PID. The difference was statistically significant (P = 0.001). Chlamydia infection was not found to be associated with any particular type of infertility (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of C. trachomatis was higher in infertile women when compared to pregnant controls. This finding lends credence to the call for enzyme immunosorbent assay for Chlamydial IgG antibodies to be incorporated into infertility investigation in this environment.