The Prevalence of Endocervical Chlamydia trachomatis Infection Among Young Females in Kashan, Iran.

BACKGROUND: Chlamydia trachomatis is one of the major bacterial agents of the sexually transmitted diseases worldwide, especially among young females. There is no data regarding the prevalence of genital Chlamydia infection among young females in Kashan, Iran. OBJECTIVES: The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of endocervical C. trachomatis infection among females aged 17 - 35 years in Kashan, Iran. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the current descriptive study, 255 endocervical swab samples were collected from the obstetrics and gynecology clinics of Kashan, Iran from December 2012 to July 2013. Cervical swabs were placed in transport media and sent to the laboratory. To identify C. trachomatis in the samples Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was performed to amplify a sequence in the cryptic plasmid, generating a fragment of about 512base pair. Demographic data was collected considering the relevant risk factors by a standard questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 255 females were tested. The prevalence of genital C. trachomatis was 2.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.54% - 4.26%); 3.2% of the females in the ≤ 25-year-old group were positive versus 1.8% in the 26 - 35-year-old group. The most general presented symptoms of genital C. trachomatis infection were vaginal discharge (66.6%) and lumbar pain (50%). No significant relationships were found between C. trachomatis infection and the risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: To the authors' knowledge this is the first study to describe endocervical C. trachomatis infection in this area. The obtained results also emphasized the importance of routine diagnosis of C. trachomatis to control of the infection.

Effect of daily consumption of probiotic yogurt on oxidative stress in pregnant women: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Due to the enhanced oxygen requirement of the mitochondria-rich placenta primarily during the third trimester, pregnancy is associated with elevated levels of oxidative stress. This study was designed to determine the effects of daily consumption of probiotic yogurt on oxidative stress among Iranian pregnant women. METHODS: This randomized single-blind controlled clinical trial was performed among 70 pregnant women, singleton primigravida, aged 18-30 in their third trimester. Subjects were randomly assigned to two groups to consume 200 g/day of either conventional yogurt (n = 33) or probiotic yogurt (n = 37) for 9 weeks. Fasting blood samples were taken at baseline and after a 9-week intervention to measure oxidative stress parameters. RESULTS: Consumption of probiotic yogurt resulted in increased erythrocyte glutathione reductase (GR) levels as compared to the conventional yogurt (p = 0.01). Despite the significant effect of probiotic yogurt consumption on plasma glutathione (67.9 µmol/l, p = 0.01), erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (163 mmol/min/ml, p = 0.04) and serum 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine levels (-74.3 ng/ml, p = 0.04), no significant differences were found between the two yogurts in terms of their effects on the mentioned parameters. CONCLUSION: Consumption of probiotic yogurt among pregnant women resulted in increased levels of erythrocyte GR as compared to the conventional yogurt, but could not affect other indices of oxidative stress.

Effect of daily consumption of probiotic yoghurt on lipid profiles in pregnant women: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Due to enhanced fat storage primarily during the mid-pregnancy period, pregnancy is associated with elevated levels of lipid profiles. To our knowledge, no reports are available indicating the effects of probiotic yoghurt consumption on serum lipid profiles in pregnant women. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to determine the effects of daily consumption of probiotic yoghurt on lipid profiles of Iranian pregnant women. METHODS: This randomized single-blinded controlled clinical trial was performed among 70 pregnant women, primigravida, aged 18-30 years old who were carrying singleton pregnancy at their third trimester. Subjects were randomly assigned to consume 200 g/d of conventional (n=33) or the probiotic group (n=37) for 9 weeks. The probiotic yoghurt was a commercially available product prepared with the starter cultures of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus, enriched with probiotic culture of two strains of lactobacilli (Lactobacillus acidophilus LA5) and bifidobacteria (Bifidobacterium animalis BB12) with a total of min 1 × 10(7) colony-forming units. The conventional yoghurt contained the starter cultures of S. thermophilus and L. bulgaricus. Fasting blood samples were taken at baseline and after 9-weeks intervention to measure serum lipid profiles. RESULTS: Although consumption of probiotic yogurt for 9 weeks had been resulted in a significant reduction in serum total- (-53.7 mg/dL, p=0.001), LDL- (-35.2 mg/dL, p=0.006) and HDL-cholesterol levels (-9.8 mg/dL, p=0.002) as well as serum triglyceride concentrations (-42.8 mg/dL, p=0.029), no significant differences were found comparing probiotic and conventional yogurts in terms of their effect on serum lipid profiles. Within-Group differences in conventional yogurt group revealed a significant reduction in HDL-cholesterol levels (-8.4 mg/dL, p=0.005) and borderline significant reduction in serum total cholesterol concentrations (-21.6 mg/dL, p=0.08). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, consumption of probiotic yogurt among pregnant women could not affect serum lipid profiles as compared to the conventional yogurt.

Plasma total antioxidant capacity and its related factors in Iranian pregnant women.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and its related factors in pregnant Iranian women attending maternity clinics. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study carried out in Naghavi Maternity Clinic, Shaheed Beheshti Specialty and Subspecialty Polyclinic and 10 antenatal centers, affiliated to Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran, we determined the plasma TAC and its related factors including maternal age, weight, and body mass index (BMI) at the beginning, thirteenth, and twenty-first to twenty-fourth weeks of pregnancy, and gestational age at the twenty-first to twenty-fourth weeks of pregnancy in 137 primigravid pregnant women, 18-30 years old from October 2010 to March 2011. We used multiple linear regression to assess the relationship between TAC and its related factors. RESULTS: Plasma TAC in the twenty-first to twenty-fourth weeks of pregnancy was 0.75+/-0.11 mmol/l. The BMI at the beginning was 25.06+/-4, 25.72+/-4.13 at the thirteenth, and 26.95+/-4.19 kg/m2 at the twenty-first to twenty-fourth weeks of pregnancy. Multiple regression analysis showed that gestational age was inversely associated with the plasma TAC (beta: -0.234, p=0.007). Regression analysis also suggested a trend toward significant association between maternal age and plasma TAC (beta: 0.150, p=0.080), but there was no association between other variables and plasma TAC. CONCLUSION: Gestational age was inversely correlated with plasma TAC and maternal age had a trend toward significant association with TAC in 18-30 year-old Iranian pregnant women in their sixth month of pregnancy.

Effects of daily consumption of probiotic yoghurt on inflammatory factors in pregnant women: a randomized controlled trial.

Previous studies have shown that inflammatory factors increases in pregnancy and is associated with several complications of pregnancy. The aim of this study was to assess effects of daily consumption of probiotic yoghurt on inflammatory factors in pregnant women. In a randomized clinical trial, seventy primigravid (the first pregnancy) and singleton pregnant women aged 18-30 years were assigned to two groups. Subjects consumed daily 200 g probiotic yoghurt containing Lactobacillus acidophilus La5 and Bifidobacterium animalis BB12 (10(7) CFU g(-1) for each) or 200 g conventional yoghurt for 9 weeks. Fasting blood samples were collected at baseline (28 weeks of gestation) and after intervention (37 weeks of gestation). Inflammatory factors, hs-CRP and TNF-alpha, were measured by Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Independent t-test was used to compare the two groups after intervention and paired-sample t-test compared variables before and after treatment. The results showed that the probiotic yogurt brought about a decrease in the serum hs-CRP level, from 10.44 +/- 1.56 to 7.44 +/- 1.03 microg mL(-1) (p = 0.041). There was no significant change in the conventional yogurt group in the serum hs-CRP level (12.55 +/- 1.57 to 14.51 +/- 1.62 microg mL(-1), p = 0.202). The probiotic yogurt had no effect on TNF-alpha (from 73.75 +/- 6.59 to 77.91 +/- 5.61 pg mL(-1), p = 0.633). Serum TNF-alpha did not change in the conventional yogurt group (p = 0.134). In conclusion probiotic yogurt significantly decreased hs-CRP in pregnant women but had no effect on TNF-alpha.