BACKGROUND- Bacterial vaginosis is an important disease on account of its high prevalence as well as the obstetrical and gynecological complications. OBJECTIVE- To present an epidemiological profile of patients diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis seen at an outpatient clinic in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, described according to socio-demographic and clinical variables. METHODS- A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed by collecting data from the medical records of 658 females, seen from January, 1999 to December, 2004. Our study took into account age, ethnicity, marital status, schooling, sexual preference, number of partners and associated sexual diseases. RESULTS- The prevalence observed was 29%. Regarding the profile of women with bacterial vaginosis, the highest ratio of cases occurred in adolescents aged 10 to 19 years old (40%), black women (37.1%), widows (62.5%), women who have not graduated from high school (39.5%), heterosexual women (29.5%), women with two or more sexual partners in the last 30 days (50%) and in the last five years (35.3%). The concomitant association with other sexually transmitted diseases was found in 35% of cases. CONCLUSION- The distribution of bacterial vaginosis in patients according to age, ethnicity, number of sexual partners and associated sexual diseases was similar to that described in the literature. The observed ratio was within values of other studies (10 to 36%).
Epidemiology; Sexually transmitted disease; Vaginosis, bacterial
