Persistence of Trichomonas vaginalis serostatus in men over time

Previous epidemiologic studies have observed positive associations between Trichomonas vaginalis (Tv) serostatus and both prostate cancer (PCa) risk and mortality. However, only a few small older studies have examined Tv antibody persistence over time, all of which were composed mainly of female patients. Therefore, we examined Tv antibody persistence over time, as well as intra-individual variability, among middle- to older-aged men in the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS).

We tested baseline and repeat plasma specimens (collected 1-3 years later) from 248 male participants for Tv antibodies. We used the same enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as in previous studies of Tv serostatus and PCa.

At baseline, 46 (18.5 %) participants were seropositive for Tv infection. Seventy-six percent of these men were still seropositive 1-3 years later. A similar proportion of men "seroconverted" (4.0 %) as "seroreverted" (4.4 %), all of whom had absorbance values near the cutoff point for seropositivity. Overall, substantial agreement was observed between baseline and repeat serostatus (κ = 0.72, 95 % confidence interval 0.60-0.83).

Tv seropositivity was largely persistent between plasma specimens collected 1-3 years apart from middle- to older-aged men. These high levels of persistence are similar to those observed for other sexually transmitted infections frequently investigated in relation to PCa.