CMV seroconversion in pregnant army personnel of the IDF: Trends and risk factors.

Zemer-Tov, Bar; Walfisch, Asnat; Schwartz, Naama; Meir, Hila; Kleitman, Vered

OBJECTIVE Cytomegalovirus (CMV) seroconversion in pregnancy is a major health issue with potentially devastating fetal consequences. We opted to determine rates and trends of CMV seroconversion in pregnant army personnel and isolate risk factors. METHODS In this retrospective cohort study, all pregnancies of army personnel between 2009-2019 were evaluated (n=10,409) and all pregnancies with CMV laboratory records were included. Seroconversion rate was calculated overall and per year. Demographic and obstetrical characteristics were compared between exposed and unexposed women. Independent predictors of seroconversion were further investigated using logistic regression models. RESULTS CMV serology status was available in 7,665 pregnancies. Seroconversion was evident in 66 women (4.15%) of the seronegative pregnancies. Women in seroconversion group were significantly more likely to belong to a higher social class. In the regression models, adjusted for age, place of residence and education, higher parity (aOR = 2, p< 0.001) and residing in a central district (aOR = 2.67, p= 0.002) were significantly associated with seroconversion, CONCLUSION: Higher social class appears to be a significant risk factor for CMV seroconversion during pregnancy. Residing in a central district and higher parity appear to be independently associated with an increased risk for seroconversion during pregnancy among army personnel.