Table 2. Partnership lengths among those with at least 1 partner in the prior two months, in the overall population and by participant and partnership characteristics.
| Characteristic | Patients N | Partnerships N | Weighted* median PL in days (IQR) | Weighted* mean PL in days (95% CI) | PLD in days (95% CI) | PLR (95% CI) | Difference in weighted* median PL (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 161 | 204 | 176 (30, 898) | 858 (630, 1169) | --- | --- | --- |
| Sex | |||||||
| Female | 42 | 46 | 646 (147, 1780) | 1126 (748, 1696) | 0. | 1. | 0. |
| Male | 119 | 158 | 48 (0, 357) | 557 (374, 827) | -569 (-1081, -59) ‡ | 0.5 (0.3, 0.9) ‡ | -598‡ |
| Age | |||||||
| 18-24 years | 75 | 94 | 152 (35, 657) | 405 (280, 584) | 0. | 1. | 0. |
| 25-29 years | 47 | 57 | 771 (16, 1780) | 1029 (706, 1500) | 624 (209, 1040) ‡ | 2.5 (1.5, 4.3) ‡ | 619 |
| 30+ years | 39 | 53 | 173 (30, 2369) | 1525 (877, 2651) | 1120 (264, 1976) ‡ | 3.8 (1.9, 7.3) ‡ | 21 |
| Marital/cohabitation status | |||||||
| Married/cohabiting | 101 | 127 | 625 (120,1673) | 1091 (797, 1493) | 0. | 1. | 0. |
| Unmarried and not cohabiting | 60 | 77 | 27 (0, 140) | 197 (78, 495) | -894(-1281,-506)‡ | 0.2 (0.1, 0.5) ‡ | -598‡ |
| Partner type | |||||||
| Spouse / live-in partner | 80† | 81 | 777 (353, 1799) | 1424 (1043, 1945) | 0. | 1. | 0. |
| Non-cohabiting girl/boyfriend | 73† | 88 | 40 (21, 174) | 216 (108, 431) | -1208 (-1686, -731) ‡ | 0.2 (0.1, 0.3) ‡ | -737‡ |
| Transactional partner | 6† | 7 | 0 (0, 0) | 38 (6, 262) | -1386 (-1837, -936) ‡ | 0.03 (0.004, 0.2) ‡ | -777‡ |
| Casual acquaintance | 23† | 26 | 0 (0, 10) | 14 (4, 49) | -1410 (-1855, -965) ‡ | 0.01 (0.003, 0.04) ‡ | -777‡ |
| Partnership pattern | |||||||
| 1 partner | 122 | 122 | 358 (113, 1673) | 1006 (720, 1407) | 0. | 1. | 0. |
| Multiple consecutive§ | 16 | 34 | 0 (0, 9) | 140 (54, 362) | -866 (-1229, -504) ‡ | 0.1 (0.05, 0.4) ‡ | -358‡ |
| Multiple concurrent§ | 19 | 44 | 159 (30, 556) | 635 (312, 1291) | -371 (-935, 191) | 0.6 (0.3, 1.4) | -199 |
| Travel in last 2 months | |||||||
| No | 106 | 133 | 419 (80, 1128) | 1033 (735, 1452) | 0. | 1. | 0. |
| Yes | 54 | 69 | 69 (11, 616) | 428 (250, 732) | -605 (-1025, -185) ‡ | 0.4 (0.2, 0.8) ‡ | -350‡ |
| Transactional sex in last 2 months | |||||||
| No | 98 | 114 | 625 (60, 1431) | 1105 (790, 1548) | 0. | 1. | 0. |
| Yes | 62 | 89 | 106 (8, 186) | 398 (198, 802) | -707 (-1172, -242) ‡ | 0.4 (0.2, 0.8) ‡ | -519‡ |
| HIV status | |||||||
| HIV-negative | 112 | 142 | 152 (21, 1012) | 935 (615, 1424) | 0. | 1. | 0. |
| CHI | 34 | 39 | 556 (120, 777) | 753 (490, 1158) | -182 (-692, 327) | 0.8 (0.4, 1.5) | 404 |
| AHI | 15 | 23 | 15 (0, 346) | 436 (202, 942) | -499 (-1016, 18) | 0.5 (0.2, 1.1) | -137 |
| Current GUD status | |||||||
| No GUD | 107 | 128 | 346 (39, 898) | 882 (614, 1267) | 0. | 1. | 0. |
| GUD | 54 | 76 | 130 (0, 712) | 786 (437, 1413) | -96 (-657, 465) | 0.9 (0.4, 1.8) | -216 |
| Current discharge status (males) | |||||||
| No urethral discharge | 61 | 84 | 117 (0, 1128) | 868 (565, 1334) | 0. | 1. | 0. |
| Urethral Discharge | 58 | 74 | 30 (0, 138) | 252 (111, 574) | -616 (-1043, -189) ‡ | 0.3 (0.1, 0.7) ‡ | -87‡ |
Partnership lengths are weighted by participants' inverse probabilities of selection into the study (see Methods).
Numbers sum to more than 161 because participants could have more than one type of partner.
Statistically significant at α=0.05. Statistical significance of PLD and PLR was assessed by GEE analysis of partnership lengths in days. Statistical significance of differences in weighted median partnership lengths was assessed by GEE analysis of partnership length ranks.
Categories were mutually exclusive, as participants reporting any concurrent partnerships were classified as having multiple concurrent partners, and participants reporting only consecutive partnerships were classified as having multiple consecutive partnerships.
CHI = chronic (post-acute) HIV infection; AHI = acute HIV infection; GUD = genital ulcer disease; PL = partnership length; PLD = partnership length difference, calculated with generalized estimating equations as the difference in weighted mean partnership lengths; PLR = partnership length ratio, calculated with generalized estimating equations as the ratio of weighted mean partnership lengths; IQR = interquartile range