Prevalence of Urogenital Mycoplasma genitalium Infection at 2 US Army Medical Facilities.

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have a high incidence in the US Armed Forces and can adversely impact service members' ability to perform their duties. Better knowledge of Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) epidemiology in the military is needed to understand the potential impact of this emerging pathogen on force readiness.
Methods: We conducted cross-sectional analyses of data from US Army service members and other Military Health System beneficiaries participating in a trial of an STI/HIV behavioral intervention at Fort Liberty, NC, and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA. At enrollment, participants completed questionnaires and provided biological specimens for nucleic acid amplification testing for MG, Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG). We used principal component analysis and robust Poisson regression to examine associations between participant characteristics and prevalent urogenital MG.
Results: Among 432 participants enrolled between November 2020 and February 2023, 43 had MG (prevalence, 10.0%), of whom 13 had coinfection with another bacterial STI (all 13 were positive for CT, with 1 also positive for NG). The prevalence of MG was significantly higher among female (13.5%) versus male (7.6%; P = 0.048) participants and non-Hispanic Black (14.9%) versus non-Hispanic White participants (6.6%; P = 0.045). Single relationship status and increased number of recent sexual partners were correlated, and their component was associated with higher MG prevalence (adjusted prevalence ratio, 2.11; 95% confidence interval, 1.29-3.48).
Conclusions: The high prevalence of urogenital MG among Military Health System beneficiaries highlights the importance of understanding the potential clinical sequelae of MG and conducting additional epidemiologic research in military settings.
Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest and Sources of Funding: The authors declare no conflict of Interest. This work was supported by a cooperative agreement (W81XWH-18-2-0040) between the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., and the US Department of Defense. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be construed to represent the positions of the US Army, the Department of Defense, or the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. The investigators have adhered to the policies for protection of human subjects as prescribed in AR 70-25.
(Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association.)