Table 1.
Demographic, clinical and microbiological characteristics of the women included in the study.
| Clinical characteristics | Non-pregnant women (n = 129) | Pregnant women (n = 67) | p-valuea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age | |||
| Median (range, years) | 39 (18–75) | 29 (18–42) | < 0.001 |
| Ethnic groups | |||
| African (black) | 114 (88%) | 56 (84%) | 0.73b |
| Caucasian (white) | 12 (9.3%) | 7 (10%) | |
| Indian | 3 (2.3%) | 2 (3%) | |
| Inter-racial/multi-racial | 0 (0%) | 2 (3%) | |
| Clinical symptoms | |||
| Abnormal vaginal discharge | |||
| Present | 22 (17%) | 12 (18%) | 0.88 |
| Absent | 107 (83%) | 55 (82%) | |
| UTI symptomsc | |||
| Present | 28 (22%) | 18 (27%) | 0.42 |
| Absent | 101 (78%) | 49 (73%) | |
| HIVd status | |||
| Positive | 67 (52%) | 10 (15%) | <0.001b |
| Negative | 57 (44%) | 57 (85%) | |
| Unknown | 5 (3.9%) | 0 (0%) | |
| Vaginal microbiota (Nugent scoring) | |||
| Nugent score 0–3 (normal vaginal microbiota) | 69 (53.5%) | 50 (72%) | 0.016 |
| Nugent score 4–6 (intermediate vaginal microbiota) | 20 (15.5%) | 5 (7%) | |
| Nugent score 7–10 (BVe) | 40 (31%) | 12 (20%) | |
| Vaginal microbiota (Ison-Hay criteria) | |||
| Class I (normal vaginal microbiota) | 62 (48.1%) | 48 (72%) | 0.013g |
| Class II (intermediate vaginal microbiota) | 24 (18.6%) | 8 (12%) | |
| Class III (BV) | 39 (30.2%) | 11 (16%) | |
| Class IV (Gram-positive cocci only) | 1 (0.8%) | 0 (0%) | |
| Class 0 (Epithelial cells with no bacteria)f | 3 (2.3%) | 0 (0%) | |
a
χ2 test for independence. Significant p-values (<0.05) are indicated in bold.
b
For African vs. Caucasian and for HIV-positive vs. HIV-negative.
c
Urinary tract infection symptoms: frequent urination, hematuria, burning sensation, dysuria, nocturia.
d
HIV: Human immunodeficiency virus.
e
BV: bacterial vaginosis.
f
Equivalent to a Nugent score of 4 (intermediate vaginal microbiota).
g
Excluding classes IV and 0.