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. 2023 Dec 13;10(1):e23338.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23338. eCollection 2024 Jan 15.

The association between non-viral sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy outcome in Latin America and the Caribbean: A systematic review

Maria Lara-Escandell  1 , Carlotta Gamberini  1 , Naomi C A Juliana  1 , Salwan Al-Nasiry  1   2 , Servaas A Morré  1   3   4 , Elena Ambrosino  1
Affiliations

The association between non-viral sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy outcome in Latin America and the Caribbean: A systematic review

Maria Lara-Escandell et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Introduction: Non-viral sexually transmitted infections are known to be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. For these pathogens, standard antenatal screening is not broadly performed in Latin America and the Caribbean. The aim of this study was to comprehensively review the association of non-viral sexually transmitted infections and neonatal outcomes among pregnant women in the region.

Methods: Four databases (PubMed, Embase, SciELO and LILACS) were examined to identify eligible studies published up to September 2022. English or Spanish cross-sectional, case-control and cohort studies assessing the association of non-viral sexually transmitted infections and adverse pregnancy outcomes were evaluated. Articles were firstly screened by means of title and abstract. Potential articles were fully read and assessed for inclusion according to the eligibility criteria. Snowballing search was performed by screening of bibliographies of the chosen potentially relevant papers. Risk of bias within studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute reviewer's manual.

Results: A selection of 10 out of 9772 search records from five Latin America and the Caribbean countries were included. Six studies associated Treponema pallidum infection with preterm birth (1/6), history of previous spontaneous abortion (2/6), fetal and infant death (1/6), low birth weight (1/6) and funisitis of the umbilical cord (1/6). Three studies associated Chlamydia trachomatis infection with preterm birth (2/3), ectopic pregnancy (1/3) and respiratory symptoms on the newborn (1/3). One study associated Mycoplasma genitalium infection with preterm birth.

Conclusion: This review provides evidence on the association of non-viral sexually transmitted infections with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Further investigation is needed to establish more associations between non-viral sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy outcome, especially for Mycoplasma genitalium, Trichomonas vaginalis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Overall, this review calls for more research for public health interventions to promote screening of non-viral sexually transmitted infections during pregnancy, among high-risk population groups of pregnant women living in the region.

Keywords: Adverse pregnancy outcomes; Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC); Sexually transmitted infections (STI).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Servaas A. Morre’ reports a relationship with inBiome that includes: equity or stocks. Servaas A. Morre’ reports a relationship with Microbe&Lab BV that includes: equity or stocks.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Prisma Flow Diagram Prisma Flow Diagram for Inclusion and Exclusion of Studies Extracted and adapted from Ref. [34].
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Map of Latin America and the Caribbean depicting in red the countries where the included studies were conducted. Map depicting studies from five LAC countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Haiti, Mexico and Peru) that were retrieved. Map created and edited from Mapchart (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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