title: Prevalence of recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis in 5 European countries and the United States: results from an internet panel survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to estimate prevalence of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and recurring VVC (RVVC).
  
  
  METHODS
  An online omnibus survey was administered to 6,010 women aged 16 and older in 6 countries.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We analyzed surveys from 6,000 women. Depending on the country, between 29% and 49% of participating women reported having a health care provider-diagnosed vaginal yeast infection during their lifetime. More than one fifth of women reporting one vaginal yeast infection also reported a 12-month period with 4 or more infections (RVVC) (overall 9%). The cumulative probability of RVVC after an initial vaginal yeast infection was very high. By age 25 years, the probability was 10% for women having had 1 initial yeast infection. By age 50 years, it was 25%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The overall rates of VVC and RVVC were high and consistent with previous findings. Results were consistent across countries with the exception of France, which had a lower rate of VVC. This may reflect differences in risk behavior, response to infection, or sampling biases. Recurring VVC is a significant health problem in western countries, and the probability that VVC will progress to RVVC is high.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Betsy
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Foxman
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Muraglia
authors.forename: Jean-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Dietz
authors.forename: Jack D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Sobel
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wagner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002181:Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012008:Recurrence; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult