Hormonal status and mycoplasma colonization in the female genital tract

Three hundred seventy-four cervical or vaginal specimens from patients with various hormonal states were cultured for Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis. Significantly, low recovery rates of U urealyticum were obtained in the prepuberty (5%), puerperium (24%), and postmenopause (25%) groups, whereas pregnant women showed the highest incidence of U urealyticum (82%). The recovery rate of U urealyticum from neonates was 42%. The incidence of U urealyticum in sexually inactive females was significantly lower (40%) than that in sexually active nonpregnant women (67%). Significantly, a higher incidence (36%) was observed in postmenopausal women with a uterine cervix than in those whose cervix had been removed by surgery (10%). It is suggested that there is a close relationship between hormonal status and the occurrence of genital mycoplasmas. Possible modes of transmission of genital mycoplasmas other than sexual contact are also discussed.