Factors predictive of cytomegalovirus immune status in pregnant women

We performed serological tests for antibody to cytomegalovirus on 1989 pregnant women of middle-to-upper socioeconomic status at the time of their first obstetric visit. Fifty percent of the women had antibody to cytomegalovirus. Analysis with a stepwise logistic regression model revealed that seropositivity was independently correlated with nonwhite race, less than 16 years of education, being breast-fed as an infant, the presence of children five to 18 years of age in the home, and maternal age greater than or equal to 30 years. Conversely, women not possessing these risk factors were more likely to be seronegative; 69% of the women without any of the five factors lacked antibody to cytomegalovirus. Serological screening for antibody would be more useful in obstetric practices where the majority of patients lack these risk factors.