The Association Of Male Circumcision And Bacterial Vaginosis In A Longitudinal Study

• Activity Number: 190
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, August 1, 2011 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistics in Epidemiology
• Author(s): Jin Huang*+ and Jeff M. Szychowski and Suzanne P. Cliver and Mark A. Klebanoff and William W. Andrews
• Companies: University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Alabama at Birmingham and Nationwide Children's Hospital and University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Keywords: generalized estimating equations ; sexually transmitted infection ; bacterial vaginosis ; circumcision

Abstract

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common and recurrent condition in sexually active women. However, its etiology and its role as a sexually transmitted infection (STI) are still unclear. Our purpose was to evaluate the association between circumcision of male sexual partners, frequently investigated in STI research, and BV occurrence. In the Longitudinal Study of Vaginal Flora, 3620 nonpregnant women were followed quarterly for 1 year and BV was assessed based on Nugent Score, vaginal pH, and Amsel criteria. We used generalized estimating equations to estimate the effect of circumcision on occurrence of BV in intervals of risk. Based on Nugent Score, BV appeared in 24% of eligible intervals: 23% with at least 1 uncircumcised male sex partner reported and 24% with exclusively circumcised partners reported. We observed no statistically significant association between BV occurrence and circumcision status (OR=0.94, 95% CI: 0.75-1.18). Similar results were seen for the other BV diagnostic criteria. The association was nearly identical after controlling for other factors including partner race and condom use. We found no evidence of association between circumcision and occurrence of BV.