Objective: To assess if vaginal interleukin-(IL)-1beta in early pregnancy is associated with adverse outcome among BV-positive women.
Study Design: 1,806 women were enrolled at <20 weeks’ gestation. 800 women were BV-positive (Nugent 7-10), 707 of them had birth outcome data. Vaginal IL-1beta concentrations were measured in 105 BV-positive women who had an adverse preterm outcome, including 66 preterm births (20-<37 weeks, of which 52 were spontaneous) and 14 late miscarriages (12-<20 weeks), and in 295 BV controls (term normal birth weight infants). The upper (>66th percentile) and lower (<33rd percentile) tertiles of IL-1beta concentrations were compared with the middle tertile (33rd to 66th percentile).
Results: None of the IL-1beta tertiles was associated with increased risk for any adverse preterm outcome, nor preterm birth and miscarriage with or without exclusion of women with concurrent STDs.
Conclusion: IL-1beta is not a risk marker for preterm birth among BV-positive women in early gestation.
