RTI uses cookies to offer you the best experience online. By clicking “accept” on this website, you opt in and you agree to the use of cookies. If you would like to know more about how RTI uses cookies and how to manage them please view our Privacy Policy here. You can “opt out” or change your mind by visiting: http://optout.aboutads.info/. Click “accept” to agree.
Is vaginal washing associated with increased risk of HIV-1 acquisition?
van de Wijgert, J., Morrison, C., Salata, R., & Padian, N. (2006). Is vaginal washing associated with increased risk of HIV-1 acquisition?AIDS, 20(9), 1347-1348.
McClelland and colleagues found an increased risk of HIV-acquisition for vaginal washing among 1270 Kenyan female sex workers participating in a 10-year open cohort study [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for washing with water alone, 2.64, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.00–6.97; and for soap 3.84, 95% CI, 1.51–9.77] [1]. We also studied vaginal washing as a risk factor for HIV acquisition in a prospective cohort of 4531 women attending family planning clinics in Zimbabwe and Uganda, but did not find a statistically significant association (univariate HR for washing with water and/or soap 0.96, 95% CI, 0.72–1.27; unpublished data). Vaginal drying or tightening was associated with HIV-1 acquisition in univariate (HR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.03–2.15) but not in multivariate models (HR, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.71–1.67). Our results are consistent with results of a South African study recently published by Meyer et al. [2].