Table 1.
Sociodemographic, behavioral, and reproductive history correlates of VMB clusters
| Correlates | KRST-I n (%) N = 19 | KRST-II n (%) N = 136 | KRST-pIII-V n (%) N = 53 | p value * | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographic characteristics at screening | |||||
| Recruitment group: | |||||
| Adult women, KE | 9 (47.4) | 60 (44.1) | 21 (39.6) | 0.69 | |
| Adolescent women, KE | 1 (5.3) | 14 (10.3) | 4 (7.5) | ||
| Pregnant women, KE | 3 (15.8) | 9 (6.6) | 2 (3.8) | ||
| Adult women, RSA | 2 (10.5) | 22 (16.2) | 7 (13.2) | ||
| IVP users, RSA + TZ | 2 (10.5) | 10 (7.4) | 8 (15.1) | ||
| HIV-positive and high risk women, RW | 2 (10.5) | 21 (15.4) | 11 (20.8) | ||
| Country: | |||||
| Kenya | 13 (68.4) | 83 (61.0) | 27 (50.9) | 0.69 | |
| RSA | 2 (10.5) | 22 (16.2) | 8 (15.1) | ||
| Rwanda | 2 (10.5) | 21 (15.4) | 11 (20.8) | ||
| Tanzania | 2 (10.5) | 10 (7.4) | 7 (13.2) | ||
| Age (categorical): | |||||
| 16 -17 years | 1 (5.3) | 14 (10.3) | 4 (7.5) | 0.18 | |
| 18 -24 years | 3 (15.8) | 50 (36.8) | 20 (37.7) | ||
| 25 -29 years | 6 (31.6) | 48 (35.3) | 17 (32.1) | ||
| 30 -35 years | 9 (47.4) | 24 (17.6) | 12 (22.6) | ||
| Socio-economic status (composite)a: | |||||
| Low | 6 (31.6) | 42 (30.9) | 15 (28.3) | 0.58 | |
| Medium | 5 (26.3) | 44 (32.4) | 23 (43.4) | ||
| High | 8 (42.1) | 50 (36.8) | 15 (28.3) | ||
| Sexual behavior | |||||
| Sexual risk taking (composite)b: | |||||
| Low | 7 (36.8) | 55 (40.4) | 22 (41.5) | 0.63 | |
| Medium | 6 (31.6) | 42 (30.9) | 11 (20.8) | ||
| High | 6 (31.6) | 39 (28.7) | 20 (37.7) | ||
| Self-acknowledged sex-worker: | |||||
| No | 16 (84.2) | 115 (84.6) | 43 (81.1) | 0.88 | |
| Yes | 3 (15.8) | 21 (15.4) | 10 (18.9) | ||
| Number of lifetime sexual partnersc: | |||||
| One | 7 (38.9) | 29 (21.6) | 10 (20.8) | 0.55 | |
| Two to three | 7 (38.9) | 55 (41) | 20 (41.7) | ||
| More than three | 4 (22.2) | 50 (37.3) | 18 (37.5) | ||
| Number of sexual partners last 3 monthsd: | |||||
| Zero | 3 (15.8) | 11 (8.2) | 1 (1.9) | 0.24 | |
| One | 12 (63.2) | 101 (75.4) | 42 (79.2) | ||
| > One | 4 (21.1) | 22 (16.4) | 10 (18.9) | ||
| Vaginal sex previous morning/eveninge: | |||||
| No | 18 (94.7) | 97 (71.9) | 40 (75.5) | 0.09 | |
| Yes | 1 (5.3) | 38 (28.1) | 13 (24.5) | ||
| Frequency of sex last 3 monthsf: | |||||
| ≤10 times | 7 (50.0) | 45 (38.8) | 20 (42.6) | 0.21 | |
| 11 - 30 times | 6 (42.9) | 36 (31.0) | 19 (40.4) | ||
| >30 times | 1 (7.1) | 35 (30.2) | 8 (17.0) | ||
| Condom use last sexual contactf: | |||||
| No | 13 (81.2) | 70 (60.3) | 32 (68.1) | 0.24 | |
| Yes | 3 (18.8) | 46 (39.7) | 15 (31.9) | ||
| Freq of unprotected sex (last 3 months)g: | |||||
| Never | 0 (0.0) | 36 (60.0) | 12 (63.2) | 0.06 | |
| <10 times | 2 (40.0) | 13 (21.7) | 4 (21.1) | ||
| ≥10 times | 3 (60.0) | 11 (18.3) | 3 (15.8) | ||
| Put something in vagina to dry/tighten vagina before sex (enrollment)h | |||||
| No | 17 (100.0) | 125 (99.2) | 46 (100.0) | 1.00 | |
| Yes | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.8) | 0 (0.0) | 1.00 | |
| Clean vagina after sex (enrollment): | |||||
| No | 7 (36.8) | 67 (49.3) | 28 (52.8) | 0.50 | |
| Yes | 12 (63.2) | 69 (50.7) | 25 (47.2) | ||
| Vaginal practice for washing: | |||||
| No | 7 (36.8) | 51 (37.5) | 21 (39.6) | 0.88 | |
| Yes, but not the evening before visit | 3 (15.8) | 14 (10.3) | 7 (13.2) | ||
| Yes, including evening before visit | 9 (47.4) | 71 (52.2) | 25 (47.2) | ||
| Products used to wash/clean/dry vagina | |||||
| No product | 6 (31.6) | 51 (37.5) | 20 (37.7) | 0.48 | |
| Water or fingers only | 6 (31.6) | 39 (28.7) | 17 (32.1) | ||
| Water + soap | 3 (15.8) | 35 (25.7) | 14 (26.4) | ||
| Cloth | 4 (21.1) | 11 (8.1) | 2 (3.8) | ||
| Reproductive history at screening | |||||
| Median gravidity (IQR) | 2 (1, 3) | 2 (1, 3) | 2 (1, 3) | 0.78 | |
| Median parity (IQR) | 2 (1, 2.5) | 1.5 (0, 2) | 1 (0, 2) | 0.76 | |
| Currently pregnant | |||||
| No | 16 (84.2) | 127 (93.4) | 51 (96.2) | 0.19 | |
| Yes | 3 (15.8) | 9 (6.6) | 2 (3.8) | ||
| Breast feeding: | |||||
| No | 16 (84.2) | 119 (87.5) | 49 (92.5) | 0.48 | |
| Yes | 3 (15.8) | 17 (12.5) | 4 (7.5) | ||
| Median months since last deliveryi† (IQR) | 41 (28, 54) | 33 (19, 48) | 56 (28, 82) | 0.01 | |
| Current contraceptive use: | |||||
| None, pregnant | 3 (15.8) | 9 (6.6) | 2 (3.8) | 0.58 | |
| None, not pregnant | 3 (15.8) | 30 (22.1) | 13 (24.5) | ||
| Combined oral contraceptives | 3 (15.8) | 19 (14.0) | 9 (17.0) | ||
| Progestin-only injectables | 5 (26.3) | 44 (32.4) | 11 (20.8) | ||
| Condoms + IUD | 5 (26.3) | 34 (25.0) | 18 (34.0) | ||
Abbreviations: IQR inter quartile range, IUD intra uterine device, IVP intravaginal practice, KE Kenya, KRST Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa and Tanzania, RSA Republic of South Africa, RW Rwanda, TZ Tanzania.
*Kruskal-Wallis test for continuous data and Fisher’s exact test for categorical data.
aThe composite score ‘socio-economic-status’ was calculated as follows: income: no income (=1), up to the median (=2), median to 75th percentile (=3), and ≥ 75th percentile (=4); housing: informal dwelling (=1), room inside house or flat (=2), rented house or flat (=3), bonded/mortgaged house or flat (=4); and toilet: no facility/bush/field/yraditional pit toilet (=1), ventilated improved pit latrine (=2), and flush toilet (=3). The total score was categorized in tertiles as low, medium, high.
bThe composite variable for sexual risk taking was constructed as follows: High risk: sex worker OR at least three sex partners last year OR had at least one sex partner (in the last 3 months) with HIV OR age first sex less than 15 yrs; Medium risk: at least two sex partners last year OR had at least one sex partner (in the last 3 months) who had multiple partners; Low risk: one or no sex partners in last year AND did not have any sex partner (in the last 3 months) with multiple partners AND age first sex at least 15 years.
c8/208 values missing.
d2/208 values missing.
e1/208 values missing.
f30/208 values missing.
g124/208 values missing.
h19/208 values missing.
i71/208 values missing.
†For every one month increase in the time since last delivery, women were less likely to be assigned to cluster KRST-II than cluster KRST-pIII-V (OR = 0.98; 95% CI 0.97, 0.99). Time since last delivery was not statistically significantly different between clusters KRST-I and KRST-II, and between clusters KRST-I and KRST-pIII-V.