TABLE 1.

Characteristics of 3,620 women according to vaginal douching status at study entry, Longitudinal Study of Vaginal Flora, Birmingham, Alabama, 1999–2003^†

	Douching in the 6 months prior to baseline visit
	None		Ever
	No.	%	No.	%
Median age (years)	25.40 (6.63)‡		26.40 (7.13)
Race/ethnicity*
Non-Black	422	22.77	304	17.31
Black	1,431	77.23	1,452	82.69
Education completed (years)*
≤12	1,321	71.41	1,354	77.24
>12	529	28.59	399	22.76
Monthly income*
<$500	329	19.49	364	22.28
$500–<$800	472	27.96	515	31.52
$800–$3,000	727	43.07	672	41.13
>$3,000	160	9.48	83	5.08
Vaginal Gram stain score*
0–3 (normal flora)	765	41.5	505	28.9
4–6 (intermediate flora)	461	25.0	411	23.5
7–10 (bacterial vaginosis flora)	618	33.5	830	47.5
Sexually transmitted infection§
None*	1,558	84.1	1,324	75.4
Gonorrhea	35	1.9	41	2.3
Chlamydia	185	10.0	198	11.3
Trichomonas*	18	6.4	248	14.2

^*p < 0.001.

^†In the analysis, data were imputed for missing values: douching status, n = 11; race/ethnicity, n = 5; education, n = 11; income, n = 292; and bacterial vaginosis, n = 19.

^‡Numbers in parentheses, standard deviation.

^§Sample collection at clinic visit.