Prevalence of Trichomoniasis in Women

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General Population

National Prevalence of Trichomoniasis in
Women Aged 14-49 Years1

Bar graph showing the prevalence of Trichomoniasis vaginalis in women in the United States, ages 14 through 49. Prevalence rates are 3.1 percent overall, 1.3 percent of non-Hispanic white women, 1.8 of Mexican American women, and 13.3 percent of non-Hispanic black women.

Until recently, the true prevalence of trichomoniasis among the general population of American women was not known. Most trichomoniasis research has focused on subpopulations known to be at high risk for contracting and spreading sexually transmitted infections. In late 2007, however, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the results of their analysis of 3,754 specimens sampled from the national population of women aged 14-49. The specimens were self-collected vaginal swabs returned by participants in the 2001-2004 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The prevalence of trichomoniasis among American women from 14 to 49 years of age was 3.1%. Among non-Hispanic white women it was 1.3%, among Mexican American women it is 1.8%, and among non-Hispanic black women it was 13.3%.

Subpopulations

Trichomoniasis prevalence rates among women vary depending on the patient population studied and diagnostic method used. The following table looks at the relative prevalence of trichomoniasis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea among various groups of women. Trichomoniasis was more prevalent than gonorrhea in 7 of 8 studies, and it was more prevalent than chlamydia in 5 of 8 studies. In half the studies, trichomoniasis was more prevalent than both chlamydia and gonorrhea.

Prevalence of Trichomoniasis, Chlamydia, and Gonorrhea Infection in Women
Patient Population (n) Trichomoniasis Chlamydia Gonorrhea
College clinic (145)7 4.8% 2.8% 1.4%
Military recruits (2,157)8 1.7% 11.6% 2.4%
STD clinic (337)9 29% 8% 6%
Two STD clinics (3,009)10 16.7% 10.4% 6.0%
Adolescent oupatient program (512)11 12.9% 17.8% 5.3%
Active duty military (793)12 6.4% 11.6% 3.0%
High school health clinic (228)4 10% 8.0% 2.0%
Women at substance abuse facility (311)3 43% 2.0% 1.0%
  Table 1
  1. Sutton M, Sternberg M, Koumans EH, McQuillan G, Berman S, Markowitz L. The prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis infection among reproductive-age women in the United States, 2001-2004. Clin Infect Dis. 2007 Nov 15;45(10):1319-26. Epub 2007 Oct 15.
  2. Ohlemeyer CL, Hornberger LL, Lynch DA, Swierkosz EM. Diagnosis of Trichomonas vaginalis in adolescent females: InPouch TV culture versus wet-mount microscopy. J Adolesc Health. 1998 Mar;22(3):205-8.
  3. Shuter J, Bell D, Graham D, Holbrook KA, Bellin EY. Rates of and risk factors for trichomoniasis among pregnant inmates in New York City. Sex Transm Dis. 1998 Jul;25(6):303-7.
  4. Bachmann LH, Lewis I, Allen R, Schwebke JR, Leviton LC, Siegal HA, Hook EW 3rd. Risk and prevalence of treatable sexually transmitted diseases at a Birmingham substance abuse treatment facility. Am J Public Health. 2000 Oct;90(10):1615-8.
  5. Wiesenfeld HC, Lowry DL, Heine RP, Krohn MA, Bittner H, Kellinger K, Shultz M, Sweet RL. Self-collection of vaginal swabs for the detection of Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis: opportunity to encourage sexually transmitted disease testing among adolescents. Sex Transm Dis. 2001 Jun;28(6):321-5.
  6. Kissinger PJ, Dumestre J, Clark RA, Wenthold L, Mohammed H, Hagensee ME, Martin DH. Vaginal swabs versus lavage for detection of Trichomonas vaginalis and bacterial vaginosis among HIV-positive women. Sex Transm Dis. 2005 Apr;32(4):227-30.
  7. Thornton AC, Dale T, Fortenberry D, Logan TK. Occurrence of trichomoniasis in college women [abstract]. Abstracts of the 15th ISSTDR 2003; July 27-30; Ottawa, Canada.
  8. Rein MF, Muller M. Trichomonas vaginalis and trichomoniasis. In Holmes KK, editor. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. New York: McGraw Hill; 1990, pp. 481-492.
  9. Shafer MA, Moncada J, Boyer CB, Betsinger K, Flinn SD, Schachter J. Comparing first-void urine specimens, self-collected vaginal swabs, and endocervical specimens to detect Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae by a nucleic acid amplification test. J Clin Microbiol. 2003 Sep;41(9):4395-9.
  10. Wendel KA, Erbelding EJ, Gaydos CA, Rompalo AM. Trichomonas vaginalis polymerase chain reaction compared with standard diagnostic and therapeutic protocols for detection and treatment of vaginal trichomoniasis. Clin Infect Dis. 2002 Sep 1;35(5):576-80. Epub 2002 Aug 6.
  11. Kaydos SC, Swygard H, Wise SL, Sena AC, Leone PA, Miller WC, Cohen MS, Hobbs MM. Development and validation of a PCR-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with urine for use in clinical research settings to detect Trichomonas vaginalis in women. J Clin Microbiol. 2002 Jan;40(1):89-95.
  12. Smith K, Harrington K, Wingood G, Oh MK, Hook EW 3rd, DiClemente RJ. Self-obtained vaginal swabs for diagnosis of treatable sexually transmitted diseases in adolescent girls. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001 Jun;155(6):676-9.
  13. Rompalo AM, Gaydos CA, Shah N, Tennant M, Crotchfelt KA, Madico G, Quinn TC, Daniel R, Shah KV, Gaydos JC, McKee KT Jr. Evaluation of use of a single intravaginal swab to detect multiple sexually transmitted infections in active-duty military women. Clin Infect Dis. 2001 Nov 1;33(9):1455-61. Epub 2001 Sep 24.
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