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Title: Sexually Transmitted Disease, Urinary Tract Infections May Contribute to Birth Defect
URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/223F6A.htm
Doctor's Guide
June 23, 2008

NEW YORK -- June 23, 2008 -- Women who reported having both a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and urinary tract infection (UTI) just before or during early pregnancy were 4 times more likely to have babies with gastroschisis, according to a study published online in the British Medical Journal.

The study, which the researchers caution must be verified with further investigation, may explain in part a global increase in gastroschisis, according to lead investigator Marcia L. Feldkamp, PhD, PA, University of Utah School of Medicine; Utah Birth Defect Network, Salt Lake City, Utah.

"Gastroschisis is a public health issue worldwide, and the prevalence is on the rise in Utah," Dr. Feldkamp said. "We don't understand why this is occurring. But the incidence of STDs is also increasing and there may be a connection."

Dr. Feldkamp and colleagues conducted their study as part of the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS). This study is a multisite national investigation using birth defect surveillance systems in Utah, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Texas.

The researchers compared data on mothers of 505 babies with gastroschisis and a control group of 4,924 babies without the birth defect in the 10 states. Mothers of babies in both groups were queried through a computer-assisted telephone interview and questioned about whether they had had kidney, bladder, or UTIs; pelvic inflammatory disease; or other illnesses such as STDs before or during pregnancy. About 70% of the women in each group contacted agreed to take part in the study.

Women who reported having both an STD and a UTI immediately before or early in pregnancy were 4 times more likely to have a child with gastroschisis. Mothers aged 25 years or older whose babies had gastroschisis reported having an STD and UTI nearly 5 times more compared with mothers in the control group. Mothers in both groups reported having more UTIs than STDs.

Although the association between having both an STD and UTI and the risk for gastroschisis needs more study, it is possible the link might be even stronger than the study suggests, according to Dr. Feldkamp. This is mainly due to the fact that STDs and UTIs often go undiagnosed.

"One of the problems, especially with Chlamydia, is [that] these infections are subclinical because the woman doesn't know she has it," Dr. Feldkamp said. "We probably have many cases that go undiagnosed."


SOURCE: University of Utah Health Sciences

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