Association of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis with ABO Blood Group Among Women in a Tertiary Care Hospital, South-Eastern Nigeria

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) continues to be a common problem worldwide affecting all
strata of women in the society despite therapeutic advances. Candida is the most common
microorganism responsible for vulvovaginal candidiasis in adolescent women. Owing to the
scare, yet inconsistent reports about the possible association between the ABO blood group
and vulvovaginal candidiasis, this study was done. A total of 100 subjects aged between 18
and 50 years attending the gynaecology clinic of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching
Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi were used for this study. Ethical approval was obtained from the
ethical committee of NAUTH. Following analysis and speciation using CHROMagar
candidaTM, a total of 42 Candida species were isolated giving a 42% prevalence for
vulvovaginal candidiasis by culture. Three species of Candida were found to be dominant in
the vagina of the women studied namely Candida albicans, Candida krusei and Candida
tropicalis comprising 61.9%, 28.5% and 9.5% respectively. Results have revealed that there
is no association between the ABO blood group and vulvovaginal candidiasis (p>0.05)