Incidence of pelvic inflammatory disease in a large cohort of women tested for Chlamydia trachomatis: a historical follow-up study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Chlamydia trachomatis is a highly prevalent sexually transmitted disease. Testing rates among young Norwegian women are high. Young women diagnosed with C. trachomatis are often worried about future complications. METHODS: Our cohort consisted of 24,947 women born 1970-1984 who were tested for C. trachomatis infection during 1990-2005. We linked C. trachomatis laboratory data to data on hospitalizations for pelvic inflammatory disease during 1990-2005. Cox regression analysis with time-dependent covariates adjusted for age at first test was used to assess the association between C. trachomatis history and pelvic inflammatory disease. RESULTS: Follow-up until the end of 2005 included 201,387 woman-years. The incidence rate of hospitalization for pelvic inflammatory disease was higher among women with prior C. trachomatis infection than among women with negative tests only (48 events during 32,057 person-years and 143 events during 169,192 person-years, corresponding to 0.15 and 0.08 per 100 person-years, respectively). The corresponding hazard ratio adjusted for age at first test was 1.69 (95% CI, 1.21-2.36). CONCLUSION: Our data show a link between a diagnosis of C. trachomatis infection and subsequent pelvic inflammatory disease. However, pelvic inflammatory disease was a rare event irrespective of C. trachomatis status. These, together with other recent findings, can be used to reassure women worried about their future reproductive health following a diagnosis of C. trachomatis.