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© 1985 Oxford University Press

research-article

The Demographic Characteristics of Pregnant Women Infected with Cytomegalovirus

PAUL GRIFFITHS*, CHRISTINA BABOONIAN and DEBORAH ASHBY

Department of Virology, St. Bartholomew's Hospital London ECIA 7BE, UKDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology and General Practice, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine London NW3 2PF, UK

Griffiths P (Department of Virology, St Bartholomew's Hospital, London EC1A 7BE, UK), Baboonian C and Ashby D. The demographic characteristics of pregnant women infected with cytomegalovirus. International Journal of Epidemiology 1985, 14: 447–452.

An analysis was made of the demographic characteristics of 1000 women who were screened for serological evidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection while receiving antenatal care in central London. The prevalence of antibodies against CMV was shown, by multiple discriminant analysis, to be significantly associated with non-Caucasian race (p<0.001), increasing maternal age (p<0.001) and poor social class (p<0.05). These results are interpreted as reflecting increased childhood exposure to CMV as a result of poor social environments.

When data from 48 women who acquired primary CMV during pregnancy were analysed, infection was also related to non-Caucasian race (p<0.01), but in contrast, there was no demonstrable effect of social class, maternal age or marital status. We conclude that pregnant women acquiring the form of CMV infection with the greatest pathological potential for the fetus (primary infection) belong primarily to the middle-class sections of communities. Since middle-class women traditionally avail themselves of prophylactic measures, this result provides some optimism for the ultimate control of this common disease by immunization.

Received 1 October 1984


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