Table 4.

Changes in Vaginal Environment Between Baseline and Month 1 and Month 3

	Baseline	Month 1	Month 3	Baseline vs. month 3, p*
Changes After Cessation of Intravaginal Practices
Mean vaginal pH	5.28	5.08	5.15	0.486
BV by Nugent score, N (%)	10/58 (17)	4/46 (9)	6/42 (14)	0.770
Positive Lactobacillus culture	22/58 (38)	20/46 (43)	17/42 (40)	0.863
H2O2 producing Lactobacillus	7/58 (12)	5/46 (11)	8/42 (19)	0.228
Vaginal candidiasis	12/58 (22)	8/46 (17)	3/42 (7)	0.011
Cytokines [mean log10 transformed, pg/ml (SD)]
IFN-γ	1.43 [3.21]	1.19 [1.62]	0.60 [1.10]	0.112
TNF-α	2.47 [6.10]	0.87 [1.91]	0.97 [4.02]	0.006
IL-10	0.62 [1.07]	0.50 [0.98]	0.58 [2.06]	0.172
IL-6	41.32 [62]	24.81 [56]	24.02 [68]	0.001
IL-4	0.04 [0.25]	0.22 [0.73]	0.15 [0.48]	0.171
IL-2	0.58 [0.72]	0.76 [0.93]	0.56 [0.69]	0.913
% CCR5+CD4+ T cells	65.39	66.82	65.52	0.822
% CCR5+ß7hi+CD4+ T cells	12.92	11.22	10.50	0.240
Changes Among Women Who Do Not Engage in Intravaginal Practices
Mean vaginal pH	5.5	5.6	5.6	0.628
BV by Nugent score, N (%)	13/42 (31)	6/32 (19)	6/30 (20)	0.280
Positive Lactobacillus culture	14/42 (33)	9/32 (28)	14/30 (47)	0.166
H2O2 producing Lactobacillus	4/42 (10)	5/32 (16)	2/30 (7)	0.308
Vaginal candidiasis	5/42 (12)	7/32 (22)	7/30 (23)	0.197
Cytokines [mean log10 transformed, pg/ml (SD)]
IFN-γ	1.96 [3.12]	0.94 [1.57]	1.15 [0.89]	0.626
TNF-α	3.61 [8.82]	0.97 [1.90]	0.87 [1.59]	0.005
IL-10	0.85 [1.69]	0.47 [1.04]	0.68 [0.92]	0.856
IL-6	91.2 [182]	21.21 [31]	16 [19]	0.041
IL-4	0.38 [0.70]	0.46 [1.68]	0.27 [0.62]	0.419
IL-2	2.15 [3.57]	0.81 [0.72]	1.03 [1.04]	0.092
% CCR5+CD4+ T cells	68 [13]	67 [16]	71 [14]	0.114
% CCR5+ß7hi+CD4+ T cells	10.9 [9.7]	12.5 [9.8]	9.65 [4]	0.254

^*p values from either a binomial generalized estimating equation (GEE) with logit link or a Gaussian GEE analysis.

Figures in bold are statistically significant.

BV, bacterial vaginosis; SD, standard deviation; IFN, interferon; TNF, tumor necrosis factor; IL, interleukin.