title: Chlamydia trachomatis: important relationships to race, contraception, lower genital tract infection, and Papanicolaou smear.
abstract: Chlamydia trachomatis is a common cause of sexually transmitted disease in adolescent girls. Of 366 adolescent patients screened, 15.3% were found to have chlamydial endocervical infections, with an infection rate of 23.3% in blacks, 14.3% in Hispanics, and 10.3% in whites (P = 0.01, excess for blacks). Of Chlamydia-positive patients, 63.6% had a diagnosis of lower genital tract infection, compared with 35.4% of Chlamydia-negative patients (P = 0.004). Oral contraceptive users had a higher prevalence of infection (23.8%) compared with those using a barrier method (16.2%) or with nonusers (9.3%) (P = 0.004). Inflammatory changes on Papanicolaou smears were associated with chlamydial infection (P = 0.0001). Other variables identified as risk factors for chlamydial infection included both a younger age at first intercourse (P = 0.02) and more years of sexual activity (P = 0.02). Chronologic, menarchal, and gynecologic age, biologic age of the cervix, the number of sexual partners in the last month and during a lifetime, and parity were not found to be associated with recovery of Chlamydia.
mesh_terms: D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis; D003267:Contraception; D005260:Female; D005831:Genital Diseases, Female / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D044469:Racial Groups; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States; D014626:Vaginal Smears