Etiology of vaginal infections in women aged 18 to 40 years treated at the Jipijapa Health Center

Abstract

Vaginal infections are common conditions that cause inflammation or irritation of the vagina, caused by various pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and parasites. These infections represent a significant public health problem, affecting women of reproductive age with a prevalence ranging from 20% to 60% globally. The general objective was to analyze vaginal infections in women aged 18 to 40 years treated at the Jipijapa Health Center. A descriptive, retrospective, non-experimental, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach was carried out, where 206 patients who met the inclusion criteria were analyzed. The results showed that 49.5% of the patients had some type of vaginal infection, being more frequent in young women between 26-30 years old (38%) and in the urban population (62.1%). Gardnerella vaginalis is the predominant agent with 43.2% (n=89) showing that almost half of the infections correspond to bacterial vaginosis, Candida Spp represented 5.3% (n=11) and Trichomonas vaginalis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections  only 0.5% each. It is concluded that bacterial vaginosis associated with Gardnerella vaginalis is the main vaginal infection in the population studied, predominantly affecting young women of reproductive age. This underscores the need to strengthen prevention, early diagnosis, and timely treatment programs, as well as to implement educational strategies focused on sexual and reproductive health specifically targeting this population group.