Table 1:
Comparison of selected demographic and sexual health characteristics among HIV-negative young South African women (n=388) with no STIs, one STI and ≥2 STIs (HPVa, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HSV-2)
| No Infection | Single Infection | Coinfection | p valueb | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n=67) | (n=138) | (n=183) | ||
| no. (%) | no. (%) | no. (%) | ||
| Median age in years (range) | 21 (16–24) | 20 (16–24) | 20 (16–24) | 0.85 |
| 16–18 | 14 (20.9) | 27 (19.5) | 41 (22.4) | |
| 19–21 | 30 (44.7) | 69 (50.0) | 92 (50.2) | |
| 22–24 | 23 (34.3) | 42 (30.4) | 50 (27.3) | |
| Marital status | ||||
| Single/Widowed | 62 (92.5) | 132 (95.6) | 177 (96.7) | 0.35 |
| Married/Living Together | 5 (7.4) | 6 (4.3) | 6 (3.2) | |
| Education | 0.09 | |||
| ≤ Grade 7 | 7 (10.4) | 5 (3.6) | 7 (3.8) | |
| Grade 8–12 | 27 (40.3) | 76 (55.0) | 109 (59.5) | |
| Passed Grade 12 | 16 (23.8) | 30 (21.7) | 32 (17.4) | |
| Some college/tech | 17 (25.3) | 27 (19.5) | 35 (19.1) | |
| ≥1 alcohol drink in past month | 31 (46.2) | 79 (57.2) | 119 (65.0) | 0.02 |
| Ever used tobaccoc | 9 (13.4) | 26 (18.8) | 36 (19.6) | 0.51 |
| Median age of first vaginal sex (range) | 16 (13–19) | 17 (13–21) | 17 (1–21) | 0.46 |
| Prior history of STI | 0.86 | |||
| Yes | 13 (19.4) | 30 (21.7) | 45 (24.5) | |
| No | 39 (58.2) | 79 (57.2) | 96 (52.4) | |
| Don’t Know | 15 (22.3) | 29 (21.0) | 42 (22.9) | |
| Sexual partner with an STId | 4 (5.9) | 16 (11.5) | 35 (19.1) | 0.01 |
| Currently using birth controle | 30 (44.7) | 66 (47.8) | 88 (48.0) | 0.97 |
| Current birth control use | ||||
| Oral contraceptives | 1 (1.4) | 7 (5.0) | 6(3.2) | 0.41 |
| IUD/loop/coil | 0 (0.0) | 2 (1.4) | 0(0.0) | 0.16 |
| Depo Provera | 19 (28.3) | 37 (26.8) | 43 (23.5) | 0.67 |
| Condoms | 15 (22.3) | 31 (22.4) | 46 (25.1) | 0.82 |
| Ever been pregnant | 31 (46.2) | 70 (50.7) | 91 (49.7) | 0.83 |
| Lifetime no. of male sexual partnersf; median (range) | 2 (1–22) | 3 (1–21) | 3 (1–24) | 0.26 |
| 1 | 11 (24.4) | 20 (19.0) | 24 (16.6) | |
| 2 | 16 (35.5) | 32 (30.4) | 39 (27.0) | |
| 3+ | 18(40.0) | 53 (50.4) | 81 (56.2) | |
| Number of sexual partners in the past 6 monthsg; median (range) | 1 (0–3) | 1 (0–5) | 1(0–5) | 0.64 |
| 0 | 2 (5.8) | 7 (8.5) | 7 (6.4) | |
| 1 | 28 (82.3) | 61 (74.3) | 77 (71.3) | |
| 2+ | 4 (11.7) | 14 (17.0) | 24 (22.2) | |
| Ever received money/drugs/ presents for sex | 4 (5.9) | 4 (2.9) | 5 (2.7) | 0.42 |
Included HPV types known to cause disease, specifically genital warts (HPV 6, 11) and cervical cancer (HPV 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 68)
Pearson Chi square test for categorical variables and Mann-Whitney test for continuous variables
Tobacco- cigarettes, roll-ups, pipes, cigars, chew, snuff
Data based on self-report
Sample size reduced to n=254 due to missing values: no infection (n=43), single infection (n=92), coinfection (n=119)
Sample size reduced to n=294 due to missing values: no infection (n=45), single infection (n=105), coinfection (n=144)
Sample size reduced to n=224 due to missing values: no infection (n=34), single infection (n=82), coinfection (n=108)
Participants misreported not having vaginal intercourse in the enrollment questionnaire because of confusion related to the term “vaginal”