OBJECTIVE: To report the prevalence of Gardnerella, Trichomonas and Candida in 
the cervical smears of 9 immigrant groups participating in the Dutch national 
cervical screening program.
STUDY DESIGN: Cervical smears were taken from 58,904 immigrant participants and 
498,405 Dutch participants. As part of the routine screening process, all smears 
were screened for the overgrowth of Gardnerella (i.e. smears with an abundance 
of clue cells) and for the presence of Trichomonas and Candida. The smears were 
screened by 6 laboratories, all of which use the Dutch KOPAC coding system. The 
odds ratio and confidence interval were calculated for the 9 immigrant groups 
and compared to Dutch participants.
RESULTS: Immigrants from Suriname, Turkey and the Dutch Antilles have a 2-5 
times higher prevalence of Gardnerella and Trichomonas when compared to native 
Dutch women. Interestingly, the prevalence of Trichomonas in cervical smears of 
Moroccan immigrants is twice as high, yet the prevalence of Gardnerella is 3 
times lower than in native Dutch women.
CONCLUSIONS: Immigrants with a high prevalence of Gardnerella also have a high 
prevalence of Trichomonas. In the context of the increased risk of squamous 
abnormalities in smears with Gardnerella, such slides should be screened with 
extra care.