Factors associated with having COVID-19 among unvaccinated pregnant and non-pregnant women in Metro Manila, Philippines: a multicentre longitudinal cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the potential risk factors associated with having COVID-19 among unvaccinated pregnant and non-pregnant women. DESIGN: A multicentre prospective cohort study among eligible women in Metro Manila, Philippines, from 2020 to 2022. SETTING: Five national and local hospital research sites altogether recruited and screened 500 consenting eligible individuals. PARTICIPANTS: Pregnant and non-pregnant participants meeting the eligibility criteria were admitted for a reverse-transcription PCR determination of SARS-CoV-2, pregnancy testing and ultrasound, and an interview with an administered questionnaire. EXPOSURES: Primary exposure was pregnancy; secondary exposures involve sociodemographic, lifestyle and obstetric-gynaecologic factors. OUTCOME MEASURE: Outcome being measured was COVID-19 status. RESULTS: The significant COVID-19 risk factors were: pregnancy (PR=1.184, 95% CI 1.096, 1.279), having a white-collar job (PR=1.123, 95% CI 1.02, 1.235), travelling abroad (PR=1.369, 95% CI 1.083, 1.173) and being infected by at least one vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) (PR=1.208, 95% CI 1.113, 1.310). Protective factors included having graduate-level education (PR=0.787, 95% CI 0.649, 0.954), immunisation against a VPD (PR=0.795, 95% CI 0.733, 0.862) and practising contraception (PR=0.889, 95% CI 0.824, 0.960). CONCLUSION: This study is the first in the country to determine the risks influencing COVID-19 infection among unvaccinated pregnant and non-pregnant women. Pregnancy is a significant risk for COVID-19 among women in Metro Manila. Educational attainment and positive health behaviours seem to confer protection. Occupations and activities that increase the frequency of interactions, as well as history of communicable diseases may predispose women to COVID-19. Further studies are needed to elucidate the development of the disease in pregnant women, including the maternal and neonatal effects of COVID-19 via potential vertical mechanisms of transmission.

Association between ovarian volume and endometrial malignancy in women with postmenopausal bleeding / Philippine Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology

OBJECTIVE: This is a prospective case control study which aimed to determine the correlation of ovarian volume measurements with endometrial tissue diagnosis such as benign, premalignant and malignant conditions in women with postmenopausal bleeding.METHODS: Thirty four postmenopausal women with bleeding underwent transvaginal ultrasound for ovarian volume measurements prior to dilatation and curettage. The presence of benign (Group I), premalignant and malignant endometrial. conditions (Group II) were correlated with ovarian volume.RESULTS: Mean endometrial stripe thickness for group I (N= 19; 1.16ml+/- SD 0.88ml) was not significantly different from group II (N = 15; 1.58ml +/- SD 0.53ml). Mean ovarian volume among patients with premalignant and malignant histology (5.70ml +/- SD 1.91ml) was significantly higher than those with benign histology (2.04ml +/- SD?1.10ml) (P = 0.023). Linear regression analysis showed an association between ovarian volume and premalignant and malignant endometrial conditions (P=0.000). Using the mean ovarian volume cut-off of 5.8ml for postmenopausal women with bleeding, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value for premalignant and malignant endometrial conditions were 100%, 67.87%,40% and 100%,respectively.CONCLUSION: Large ovaries among postmenopausal women may represent a marker of risk for endometrial cancer and may be used as an adjunct to endometrial thickness in ruling endometrial malignancy.