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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 3(4)

Bacterial vaginosis in women of low socioeconomic status living in slum areas in Chennai, India

Shanmugasundaram Uma A , Pachamuthu Balakrishnan A E , Kailapuri G. Murugavel A , Aylur K. Srikrishnan A , Nagalingeswaran Kumarasamy A , Santhanam Anand A , Jebaraj Anitha Cecelia A , David Celentano B , Kenneth H. Mayer C , Sadras P. Thyagarajan D and Suniti Solomon A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Y R Gaitonde (YRG Care) Centre for AIDS Research and Education, Voluntary Health Services campus, Taramani, Chennai 600113, India.

B Department of Epidemiology, John’s Hopkins University School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.

C Department of Medicine, Brown University/Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI 02912, USA.

D Department of Microbiology, Dr A.L.M. Post Graduate Institute of Basic Medical Science (PGIBMS), University of Madras, Taramani, Chennai 600113, India.

E Corresponding author. Email: bala@yrgcare.org

Sexual Health 3(4) 297-298 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH06036
Submitted: 18 June 2006  Accepted: 18 August 2006   Published: 17 November 2006

Abstract

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common cause of vaginitis among women of childbearing age. This study was performed to investigate the prevalence of BV and its association with sexually transmitted infections among 487 women of low socioeconomic status. Blood, vaginal and endocervical swabs were tested for HIV, herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), Treponema pallidum, BV, Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoea and Trichomonas vaginalis. Of the women screened for BV, 120 (25, 95% CI 20.8–28.4) were positive and 40 (8.2, 95% CI 5.8–10.6) were intermediate. Bacterial vaginosis was significantly associated with age >25 (P = 0.014) and sexual experience (P = 0.085). Bacterial vaginosis was also related to concurrent infections with T. vaginalis (relative risk (RR) = 6.6, 95% CI 2.8–15.5, P = 0.000) and HSV-2 (RR = 2, 95% CI 1.3–2.9; P = 0.0031). The role of other possible risk factors needs to be explored.


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