Prevalence and spatial heterogeneity of Trichomonas vaginalis infection among the female population and association with climate in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Southern China

Abstract

Background: Two cervical cancer screening (CCS) projects have been ongoing for years in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region (Guangxi), and some Trichomonas vaginalis infection (TVI) cases have been found as an opportunistic finding. This study aimed to identify the high-risk population and expound the spatial epidemiological features of TVI in Guangxi. Methods: This study was based on CCS from 2012 to 2019. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR), and spatial analyses were used to identify the high-risk subgroups, as well as to depict the spatial epidemiological feature and its relationship with meteorological factors. Results: The infection rate of TVI was 0.38% in 873,880 samples. Significant association with a high risk of TVI was found in the following: females aged 40–49 years (aOR=4.464; 95% CI, 3.359–5.932; p<0.001), aged 50–59 years (aOR=3.169; 95% CI, 2.370–4.237; p<0.001), from urban (aOR=1.577; 95% CI, 1.471–1.691; p<0.001), from minority areas (aOR=1.183; 95% CI, 1.060–1.320; p=0.003), areas with GPD <41,500 CNY (aOR=1.191; 95% CI, 1.106–1.282; p<0.001), and inland areas (aOR=1.520; 95% CI, 1.339–1.726; p<0.001). Counties with higher infection rate were concentrated in northwest Guangxi's mountainous area (Z-score=3.9656, p<0.001), in the upper reaches of the Hongshui River and Yu River, and with a significant spatial autocorrelation (Moran's I=0.581, p=0.002). Spatial error model showed significantly negative regressions among temperature (B=-0.295, p=0.002), annual temperature range (B=-0.295, p=0.002), and TVI spatial distribution. Conclusion: The spatial clustering and disparity of TVI in northwest Guangxi warrant further study, and meteorological conditions may play an important role in TVI in northwest Guangxi.