E p i d e m i o l o g y Association of socio-economic and behavioural factors with bacterial vaginosis (BV) infection BV prevalence n/N (%) Univariate OR (95% CI) Adjusted OR* (95% CI) Table 1 Factor Socio-economic factors Age (years) 16–19 20–24 25–29 30–35 Marital status Married/living with partner Divorced/separated/widow Unmarried Facility type Local food handler Restaurant/cafe´/grocery Guesthouse Local brew seller Bar Education Primary or above Less than primary Literacy Yes No Number of dependents{ >2 1 None Behavioural factors Number of drinks per week 0 1–4 5–9 >10 Age at first sex{ >18 y 16–17 y 14–15 y ,14 y No. partners in last 3 months 0 1 2 >3 Condom use{ Never Rarely/sometimes Often Always Sex in exchange for money or gifts in past 3 months No Yes Hormonal contraception No Yes Sex in past 7 days No Yes 51/71 (71.8%) 191/285 (67.0%) 259/418 (62.0%) 306/509 (60.1%) 188/324 (58.0%) 441/693 (63.6%) 178/266 (66.9%) 389/656 (59.3%) 116/196 (59.2%) 101/138 (73.2%) 59/93 (63.4%) 142/200 (71.0%) 570/909 (62.7%) 237/374 (63.4%) 608/986 (61.7%) 199/297 (67.0%) 466/785 (59.4%) 142/224 (63.4%) 199/274 (72.6%) 347/602 (57.6%) 192/299 (64.2%) 90/137 (65.7%) 178/245 (72.7%) 213/368 (57.9%) 276/448 (61.6%) 246/375 (65.6%) 63/82 (76.8%) 29/63 (46.0%) 413/690 (59.9%) 210/323 (65.0%) 155/207 (74.9%) 132/244 (54.1%) 359/570 (63.0%) 143/209 (68.4%) 172/259 (66.4%) 464/790 (58.7%) 343/493 (69.6%) 587/900 (65.2%) 220/383 (57.4%) 200/393 (50.9%) 607/890 (68.2%) p = 0.02 1 0.80 (0.45 to 1.41) 0.64 (0.37 to 1.11) 0.59 (0.34 to 1.02) p = 0.07 1 1.27 (0.97 to 1.66) 1.46 (1.04 to 2.05) p = 0.002 1 1.00 (0.72,1.38) 1.87 (1.25 to 2.82) 1.19 (0.76 to 1.87) 1.68 (1.19 to 2.37) p = 0.82 1 1.03 (0.80 to 1.32) p = 0.09 1 1.26 (0.96 to 1.66) p,0.001 1 1.19 (0.87 to 1.61) 1.82 (1.34 to 2.46) p,0.001 1 1.32 (0.99 to 1.76) 1.41 (0.95 to 2.07) 1.95 (1.41 to 2.70) p = 0.001 1 1.17 (0.88 to 1.55) 1.39 (1.03 to 1.87) 2.41 (1.39 to 4.20) p,0.001 1 1.75 (1.04 to 2.94) 2.18 (1.26 to 3.76) 3.49 (1.94 to 6.28) p = 0.007 1 1.44 (1.07 to 1.96) 1.84 (1.25 to 2.70) 1.68 (1.17 to 2.41) p,0.001 1 1.61 (1.27 to 2.04) p = 0.009 1 0.72 (0.56 to 0.92) p,0.001 1 2.07 (1.62 to 2.64) p = 0.36 1 0.94 (0.51 to 1.73) 0.76 (0.42 to 1.40) 0.81 (0.44 to 1.49) p = 0.58 1 1.16 (0.87 to 1.55) 1.17 (0.78 to 1.75) p = 0.07 1 0.87 (0.62,1.23) 1.65 (1.08 to 2.52) 0.96 (0.59 to 1.56) 1.25 (0.86 to 1.83) p = 0.42 1 0.89 (0.68 to 1.18) p = 0.28 1 1.18 (0.87 to 1.58) p = 0.003 1 1.14 (0.82 to 1.59) 1.68 (1.20 to 2.34) p = 0.001 1 1.33 (0.98 to 1.81) 1.47 (0.97 to 2.22) 1.75 (1.21 to 2.51) p = 0.009 1 1.11 (0.83 to 1.49) 1.28 (0.94 to 1.75) 2.15 (1.21 to 3.81) p = 0.59 1 1.16 (0.66 to 2.05) 1.28 (0.70 to 2.34) 1.47 (0.75 to 2.85) p = 0.59 1 1.15 (0.83 to 1.60) 1.34 (0.87 to 2.05) 1.22 (0.82 to 1.83) p = 0.20 1 1.19 (0.91 to 1.54) p = 0.09 1 0.80 (0.62 to 1.04) p,0.001 1 1.95 (1.52 to 2.50) *Adjusted for age, facility type, number of dependents, number of drinks per week, age at first sex, hormonal contraception and sex in the past 7 days; {number of adults and children for whom respondent is contributing to their food and shelter; {data for age of first sex are missing for 10 women who could not remember. Data for condom use are missing for 1 woman. Association of BV with intravaginal practices Vaginal cleansing was reported by 65% of women of whom 99% reported hygiene to be the primary reason for cleansing and 90% used soap and water only. The mean cleansing frequency was 2.6 times/day (range 1–7). Using vaginal lubricants, such as petroleum jelly, during sex (wet sex) was reported by 10% of 372 Sex Transm Infect 2009;85:370–375. doi:10.1136/sti.2008.035543