Comparative study of Candidiasis among Single and Married women at Rwanda Military Hospital

Background: Genital tract is the portal of entry for numerous sexually and non-sexually trans­mitted diseases. A number of bacterial and non-bacterial infections exist that affect the female reproductive tract and cause vaginal discharge. Candida species are among im­portant opportunistic pathogens causing candidiasis in human worldwide. These yeast species are of public health concern nowadays. Aim: This study aimed at comparing the prevalence of candidiasis among single and married women attending Rwanda Mili­tary Hospital. The study population comprises of single and married women. Methodology: This was a retrospective study where data was collected from Rwanda Military Hospital. Results: The re­sults of this study showed that the incidence of candidiasis was higher in married women when compared with single women. The prevalence of candidiasis in married women was 128(74.4%), while in single women is 44(25.6%). It was observed in this study that the distribution of candidiasis among married and single is statistically sig­nificant (p<0.05). Results also show that out of 172 single and married women, more cases of candidiasis were observed within the age range of 21-30 years, 66 (44.2%) were infected with candida albicans, 31-40 years had a prevalence of 55(32%) and 11-20 years had a prevalence of 13(7.6%). The overall of cases of candida other than C. albicans observed was 15.1%. Conclusion:  This study showed that married and single women are predisposed to candidiasis. It is therefore important to give opportunistic pathogens like Candida species attention in women especially among married ones as they are mostly affected by this candidiasis. Keywords: Candidiasis, C. albicans, Vaginal discharge, Urinary tract infection, bacterial vaginosis, aerobic vaginitis.