Table 4.
Association between frequency of vaginal washing and detection of cultivable Lactobacillus, detection of H2O2-producing Lactobacillus by culture, and detection of L. crispatus, L. jensenii, and L. iners above the lower limit of detection by quantitative PCR
| Type of Lactobacillus detection | Detection n (%) | Unadjusted PR (95%CI) | Adjusted PR* (95%CI) | p-value† (test for trend) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | ||||||||
| Cultivable Lactobacillus‡ | N=73 | N=199 | |||||||
| No vaginal washing | 23 | (31.5) | 32 | (16.1) | REF | REF | <0.01 | ||
| <13 times in last week | 10 | (13.7) | 30 | (15.1) | 0.60 | (0.32, 1.11) | 0.64 | (0.34, 1.22) | |
| 14–20 times in last week | 33 | (45.2) | 94 | (47.2) | 0.62 | (0.40, 0.95) | 0.63 | (0.41, 0.97) | |
| ≥21 times in last week | 7 | (9.6) | 43 | (21.6) | 0.33 | (0.16, 0.71) | 0.33 | (0.15, 0.71) | |
| Cultivable H2O2-producing Lactobacillus | N=37 | N=255 | |||||||
| No vaginal washing | 12 | (32.4) | 43 | (18.3) | REF | REF | <0.05 | ||
| <13 times in last week | 6 | (16.2) | 34 | (14.5) | 0.69 | (0.28, 1.68) | 0.62 | (0.24, 1.59) | |
| 14–20 times in last week | 16 | (43.2) | 111 | (47.2) | 0.58 | (0.29, 1.14) | 0.55 | (0.28, 1.07) | |
| ≥21 times in last week | 3 | (8.1) | 47 | (20.0) | 0.28 | (0.08, 0.92) | 0.26 | (0.07, 0.92) | |
| L. crispatus | N=58 | N=214 | |||||||
| No vaginal washing | 18 | (31.0) | 37 | (17.3) | REF | REF | <0.05 | ||
| <13 times in last week | 9 | (15.5) | 31 | (14.5) | 0.69 | (0.34, 1.37) | 0.77 | (0.38, 1.55) | |
| 14–20 times in last week | 21 | (36.2) | 106 | (49.5) | 0.51 | (0.29, 0.87) | 0.51 | (0.30, 0.88) | |
| ≥21 times in last week | 10 | (17.2) | 40 | (18.7) | 0.61 | (0.31, 1.20) | 0.59 | (0.30, 1.19) | |
| L. jensenii | N=69 | N=203 | |||||||
| No vaginal washing | 17 | (24.6) | 38 | (18.7) | REF | REF | 0.18 | ||
| <13 times in last week | 11 | (15.9) | 29 | (14.3) | 0.89 | (0.47, 1.69) | 0.73 | (0.38, 1.40) | |
| 14–20 times in last week | 31 | (44.9) | 96 | (47.3) | 0.79 | (0.48, 1.30) | 0.70 | (0.42, 1.17) | |
| ≥21 times in last week | 10 | (14.5) | 40 | (19.7) | 0.65 | (0.33, 1.28) | 0.56 | (0.27, 1.15) | |
| L. iners | N=244 | N=28 | |||||||
| No vaginal washing | 47 | (19.3) | 8 | (28.6) | REF | REF | 0.80 | ||
| <13 times in last week | 40 | (16.4) | 0 | (0) | 1.17 | (1.05, 1.31) | 1.13 | (1.02, 1.26) | |
| 14–20 times in last week | 114 | (46.7) | 13 | (46.4) | 1.05 | (0.93, 1.19) | 1.02 | (0.91, 1.16) | |
| ≥21 times in last week | 43 | (17.6) | 7 | (25.0) | 1.01 | (0.86, 1.18) | 0.97 | (0.83, 1.13) | |
*
Adjusted a priori for age at visit and any condomless sex in last week
†
Non-parametric test for trend
‡
Growth on Rogosa and/or Colombia agar