Hormonal status and mycoplasma colonization in the female genital tract.
Three hundred seventy-four cervical or vaginal specimens from patients with various hormonal states were cultured for Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis. Significantly, low recovery rates of U urealyticum were obtained in the prepuberty (5%), puerperium (24%), and postmenopause (25%) groups, whereas pregnant women showed the highest incidence of U urealyticum (82%). The recovery rate of U urealyticum from neonates was 42%. The incidence of U urealyticum in sexually inactive females was significantly lower (40%) than that in sexually active nonpregnant women (67%). Significantly, a higher incidence (36%) was observed in postmenopausal women with a uterine cervix than in those whose cervix had been removed by surgery (10%). It is suggested that there is a close relationship between hormonal status and the occurrence of genital mycoplasmas. Possible modes of transmission of genital mycoplasmas other than sexual contact are also discussed.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005831:Genital Diseases, Female / Q000382:microbiology; D005836:Genitalia, Female / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D009174:Mycoplasma / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009175:Mycoplasma Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000453:epidemiology; D011627:Puberty; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D014509:Ureaplasma / Q000302:isolation & purification*