High Global Burden and Costs of Bacterial Vaginosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal infection among women of reproductive age and is associated with important adverse health outcomes. Estimates of the burden of BV and associated costs are needed to inform research priorities.

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of global BV prevalence among reproductive-aged women in the general population. We searched PubMed and Embase and used random effects models to estimate BV prevalence by global regions. We estimated the direct medical costs of treating symptomatic BV. Assuming a causal relationship, we also estimated the potential costs of BV-associated preterm births and human immunodeficiency virus cases in the United States.