Fertility in adolescent women previously treated for genitourinary chlamydial infection

Study Objective: To obtain follow-up pregnancy data on adolescent women in order to examine the effectiveness of anti-chlamydial therapy in the prevention of early infertility. Design: A longitudinal follow-up of adolescent women originally enrolled in a study of prevalence and recurrence of genital chlamydial infection. Setting: Public health adolescent clinics in Marion County (Indianapolis), Indiana. Participants: Sexually active female patients between 11 and 20 years old receiving gynecological care between October 1985 and February 1990. Interventions: None. Main Outcome Measures: Pregnancy during the follow-up period was ascertained using self-report during a telephone survey and/or the computerized record system of the county hospital. Rates were compared among the women separated into three groups: more than one documented chlamydial infection, a single infection, and no documented infection. Results: Using both data sources, the lowest proportion of women who became pregnant during the follow-up period was observed in the single infection group (34.9%, p = 0.029), but the other two groups were similar (multiple infections 54.2%, no documented infection 51.0%). Among women who were contacted by phone, the overall proportion was higher (68.3%) and did not differ by group even after adjustment for sexual activity and condom use. Conclusions: These data do not show an association between a history of treated genitourinary chlamydial infection and infertility. The frequent monitoring and treatment featured in the original study may have affected this.