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Background: Availability of laboratory confirmation of sexually transmitted infections is increasing in low- and middle-income countries, but costs continue to limit their access. Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) is a sexually transmitted infection of significant clinical importance, particularly among women. This study aimed to develop a risk score to identify women with a higher likelihood of CT infection, who could then be prioritized for laboratory testing, in a population of Kenyan women planning pregnancies. Methods: Women with fertility intentions were included in this cross-sectional analysis. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios for the association between demographic, medical, reproductive, and behavioral characteristics and the prevalence of CT infection. A risk score was developed and validated internally based on the regression coefficients in the final multivariable model. Results: The prevalence of CT was 7.4% (51 of 691). A risk score for predicting CT infection, with scores 0 to 6, was derived from participants' age, alcohol use, and presence of bacterial vaginosis. The prediction model yielded an area under the receiver operating curve of 0.78 (95% confidene interval [Cl], 0.72-0.84). A cutoff of =2 versus >2 identified 31.8% of women as higher risk with moderate sensitivity (70.6%; 95% Cl, 56.2-71.3) and specificity (71.3%; 95% Cl, 67.7-74.5). The bootstrap-corrected area under the receiver operating curve was 0.77 (95% Cl, 0.72-0.83). Conclusions: In similar populations of women planning pregnancies, this type of risk score could be useful for prioritizing women for laboratory testing and would capture most women with CT infections while performing more costly testing in less than half of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There are minimal data on the BVBlue test for diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis (BV) in Africa. Among 701 Kenyan women, compared with Nugent score ≥7, the BVBlue test had moderate sensitivity (81.9%; 95% confidence interval, 76.5%-86.5%) and high specificity (92.4%; 95% confidence interval, 89.5%-94.6%). This test may provide a complimentary approach to syndromic management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The incidence of pregnancy in female sex workers (FSWs) living with HIV is not well characterized. Methods: Current and former FSWs living with HIV and enrolled in a prospective cohort study in Mombasa, Kenya, were followed monthly to ascertain sexual behavior and underwent quarterly pregnancy testing. Pregnancies were considered planned, mistimed, or unwanted according to fertility desires and pregnancy intentions. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of the association between characteristics and incident pregnancy. Results: Two hundred seventy-nine FSWs were eligible (October 2012-April 2017). Most women had a nonpaying, regular partner (83.2%, 232/279), were not using modern nonbarrier contraception (69.5%, 194/279), and did not desire additional children (70.6%, 197/279). Of 34 first incident pregnancies [5.8/100 person-years (p-y); 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.1 to 8.0], 91.2% (n = 31) were unintended. The incidences of planned (5.7/100 p-y, n = 3), mistimed (10.4/100 p-y, n = 9), and unwanted pregnancies (4.9/100 p-y, n = 22) were similar (P = 0.15). In univariable analysis, oral contraceptive pill use (versus no contraception), having a nonpaying, regular partner, transactional sex, vaginal washing, condomless sex, and higher sex frequency were associated with an increased pregnancy risk. Older age was associated with a lower pregnancy risk. In multivariable analysis, having a nonpaying, regular partner (adjusted HR 4.0, 95% CI: 1.2 to 14.1) and age ≥40 years (aHR 0.2, 95% CI: 0.0 to 0.9) remained significantly associated with a higher and lower pregnancy risk, respectively. Conclusion: In this cohort of HIV-positive FSWs, most pregnancies were unintended. Identifying FSWs' fertility desires and pregnancy intentions could facilitate efforts to increase contraceptive use and implement safer conception strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some studies suggest that higher body mass index is associated with increased susceptibility to bacterial vaginosis (BV), but results are conflicting.Methods: Female sex workers aged 16 to 45 years and participating in an open, prospective cohort study in Mombasa, Kenya between 2000 and 2014 were included in this analysis. Up to 2 years of follow-up were included per woman. Body mass index (BMI) was categorized as underweight (≤18.5), normal (18.5-24.9), overweight (25-29.9), and obese (≥30). Bacterial vaginosis was assessed using Nugent scores. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate relative risks of the association between BMI and BV.Results: At baseline, 32.1% (n = 625) of 1946 women had BV. Half of women were overweight (31.1%, n = 606) or obese (20.1%, n = 391). Participants contributed 14,319 follow-up visits. Adjusting for age, compared to women with normal BMI, overweight (adjusted relative risk, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.81-1.02) and obese (adjusted relative risk, 0.82; 95% confidence interval, 0.71-0.94) women were at lower risk for BV (joint P = 0.03).Conclusions: Obese women had a nearly 20% lower risk of BV compared with women with normal BMI. Potential mechanisms for this effect, including possible effects of diet, obesity-associated changes in the gut microbiome, and systemic estrogen levels, should be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]