Demographic and epidemiological characteristics and prevalence of common genital infections in asymptomatic and symptomatic women*
| Asymptomatic women n=198 median (IQR) or n (%, 95% CI) | Symptomatic women† n=1120 median (IQR) or n (%, 95% CI) | OR (95% CI) | P value‡ | |
| Median age | 25 (22–29) | 26 (23–29) | 1.01 (0.98 to 1.04) | 0.389 |
| Median number of male partners in the past 12 months | 4 (2–6) | 4 (2–6) | 1.01 (0.97 to 1.04) | 0.638 |
| Condom use in the past 12 months | ||||
| Always | 21 (11, 7 to 16) | 69 (6, 5 to 8) | 1 | |
| Not always | 175 (89, 84 to 93) | 1032 (94, 92 to 95) | 1.79 (1.07 to 3.00) | 0.026 |
| STI in the past 6 months§ | ||||
| No | 184 (93, 89 to 96) | 934 (85, 83 to 87) | 1 | |
| Yes | 13 (7, 4 to 11) | 160 (15, 13 to 17) | 2.42 (1.35 to 4.36) | 0.003 |
| Asymptomatic women
N=198 n (%, 95% CI) |
Symptomatic women† N=1120 n (%, 95% CI) | Adjusted OR¶ (95% CI) | P value‡ | |
| Mycoplasma genitalium | ||||
| Negative | 185 (95, 91 to 98) | 1035 (93, 92 to 95) | 1 | |
| Positive | 10 (5, 2 to 9) | 73 (7, 5 to 8) | 1.26 (0.64 to 2.49) | 0.506 |
| Unassessable | 3 | 12 | ||
| Chlamydia trachomatis | ||||
| Negative | 183 (92, 88 to 96) | 1025 (92, 91 to 94) | 1 | |
| Positive | 15 (8, 4 to 12) | 85 (8, 6 to 9) | 0.99 (0.56 to 1.76) | 0.977 |
| Unassessable/not tested | 0 | 10 | ||
| Neisseria gonorrhoeae | ||||
| Negative | 198 (100, 98 to 100)** | 1098 (99, 99 to 100) | ||
| Positive | 0 (0, 0 to 2)** | 12 (1, 1 to 2) | Omitted | 0.232†† |
| Unassessable/not tested | 0 | 10 | ||
| Bacterial vaginosis‡‡ | ||||
| Negative | 165 (83, 77 to 88) | 713 (67, 64 to 70) | 1 | |
| Positive | 33 (17, 12 to 23) | 346 (33, 30 to 36) | 2.4 (1.61 to 3.57) | <0.001 |
| Not assessed | 0 | 61 | ||
| Vulvovaginal candidiasis§§ | ||||
| Negative | 164 (85, 80 to 90) | 818 (74, 71 to 77) | 1 | |
| Positive | 28 (15, 10 to 20) | 286 (26, 23 to 29) | 2.04 (1.34 to 3.12) | 0.001 |
| Not assessed | 6 | 16 | ||
Bold values are statistically significant.
*Trichomonas vaginalis is extremely uncommon at MSHC and present in <1% of attendees. Of the 684 participants who were tested by culture and wet prep, only 6 were positive for T. vaginalis.
†Women were classified as ‘symptomatic’ if they reported the presence of one or more of the following genital symptoms: abdominal pain, dyspareunia, vaginal discharge, abnormal odour, post-coital bleeding, intermenstrual spotting, vaginal itch, dysuria, urinary frequency, fevers.
‡P value calculated using logistic regression and bold indicates significant findings.
§STI in the past 6 months referred to bacterial STI only, however some women may have misinterpreted this question and answered with regard to warts or other non-bacterial STIs.
¶Adjusted for number of male sexual partners in the past 12 months (continuous variable).
**One-sided, 97.5% CI.
††P value calculated using Fisher’s exact test, not adjusted for partner number.
‡‡Bacterial vaginosis diagnosis was defined as Nugent score=4–10 and 3–4 Amsel criteria OR Nugent score=4–10 and presence of clue cells if client was either asymptomatic (ie, Amsel criteria not assessed) or other factors (ie, blood/menses) prevented clinical examination of Amsel criteria.
§§Vulvovaginal candidiasis was diagnosed microscopically or clinically by a doctor.
MSHC, Melbourne Sexual Health Centre; n, number.