Prevalence of Candida Albicans and its associated risk factors among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Zia Angelina Health Center III, Namugongo

Abstract

Introduction: Candida infection of the genital tract is one of the commonest sexually transmitted diseases and the most singular cause of vaginal discharge among pregnant women and also has health effects to the unborn baby. Objectives: The study was aimed at determining the prevalence of vaginal candidiasis and the risk factors associated with infection among pregnant women attending Zia Angelina Health Center III, Namugongo. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out between January-March, 2018 among 150 pregnant women in which selection was by subject consent and presence at the clinics. High vaginal swabs (HVS) were taken by inserting a sterile cotton wool swab into the posterior vaginal fornix and rotated gently before withdrawing. The swabs were then inoculated in sterile Czapek Dox enrichment Broth before subculturing on Potato Dextrose Agar. The suspected colonies were confirmed with germ tube test in pooled plasma. The data generated was analyzed using SPSS version 20 to obtain descriptive statistics. Both bivariate and multivariate analysis were done using binary logistic regression to obtain crude Odds Ratio (cOR) and adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) respectively of associated risk factors at 95% Confidence Interval. Results: The study showed that 52 (34.7%) while 98 (65.3%) were not infected. The age group of the participants was significantly (p=0.024) associated with vaginal candidiasis with high infection rate among aged 38 to 42 years (100%) while none was infected for those aged above 42 years. The women who wore tight underwear were 3.642 times more likely to be infected compared to those who wore free pants, this was statistically significant (aOR= 3.642, 95% CI= 1.023-12.957, p= 0.046). Furthermore, the study also reported high infection rates among women who took antibiotics were (40.9%) compared to those who didn’t take (29.6%). Conclusions: The fact that vaginal candidiasis is the commonest sexually transmitted diseases among pregnant women, this calls for a more radical approach to its management in addition to education of women about health impacts of tight underwear and irrational use of antibiotics without proper medical guidance.