Cytomegalovirus IgM Seroprevalence among Women of Reproductive Age in the United States

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) IgM indicates recent active CMV infection. CMV IgM seroprevalence is a useful marker for prevalence of transmission. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III 1988–1994, we present estimates of CMV IgM prevalence by race/ethnicity, provide a comparison of IgM seroprevalence among all women and among CMV IgG positive women, and explore factors possibly associated with IgM seroprevalence, including socioeconomic status and exposure to young children. There was no difference in IgM seroprevalence by race/ethnicity among all women (3.1%, 2.2%, and 1.6% for non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black and Mexican American, respectively; P = 0.11). CMV IgM seroprevalence decreased significantly with increasing age in non-Hispanic black women (P<0.001 for trend) and marginally among Mexican American women (P = 0.07), while no apparent trend with age was seen in non-Hispanic white women (P = 0.99). Among 4001 IgG+ women, 118 were IgM+, resulting in 4.9% IgM seroprevalence. In IgG+ women, IgM seroprevalence varied significantly by age (5.3%, 7.3%, and 3.7% for women of 12–19, 20–29, and 30–49 years; P = 0.04) and race/ethnicity (6.1%, 2.7%, and 2.0% for non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Mexican American; P<0.001). The factors reported associated with IgG seroprevalence were not associated with IgM seroprevalence. The patterns of CMV IgM seroprevalence by age, race/ethnicity, and IgG serostatus may help understanding the epidemiology of congenital CMV infection as a consequence of vertical transmission and are useful for identifying target populations for intervention to reduce CMV transmission.