Correlates of the molecular vaginal microbiota composition of African women

BMC Infectious Diseases

Table 3 Immunological correlates of VMB clusters

Correlates	KRST-I (n = 19)		KRST-II (n = 136)			KRST-pIII-V (n = 53)			p value^*a
(in log10)	Mean (95% CI)	OR/aOR (95% CI)	Mean (95% CI)	OR (95% CI)	aOR (95% CI)	Mean (95% CI)	OR (95% CI)	aOR (95% CI)
IL-1α	1.08 (0.86, 1.3)	Ref	1.22 (1.14, 1.31)	1.61 (0.69, 3.77)	1.58 (0.58, 4.33)	1.64 (1.48, 1.81)	7.4 (2.63, 20.82)	11.5^† (3.29, 40.22)	<0.0001
IL-1β	0.65 (0.33, 0.97)	Ref	0.83 (0.71, 0.95)	1.4 (0.72, 2.74)	-	1.34 (1.11, 1.57)	3.33 (1.58, 7.03)	-	<0.0001
IL-1ra^b	4.65 (4.36, 4.94)	Ref	4.83 (4.74, 4.91)	1.9 (0.76, 4.76)	-	4.87 (4.74, 5)	2.28 (0.79, 6.6)	-	0.28
IL-6	0.64 (0.33, 0.95)	Ref	0.9 (0.79, 1)	1.68 (0.85, 3.3)	-	0.9 (0.68, 1.11)	1.68 (0.8, 3.54)	-	0.31
IL-8	2.06 (1.83, 2.28)	Ref	2.19 (2.09, 2.28)	1.41 (0.62, 3.2)	-	2.25 (2.04, 2.45)	1.65 (0.68, 3.97)	-	0.54
IL-12^c	0.07 (−0.18, 0.32)	Ref	0.13 (0.05, 0.21)	1.31 (0.45, 3.81)	-	0.24 (0.12, 0.35)	2.11 (0.66, 6.7)	-	0.28
IP-10	2.54 (2.36, 2.73)	Ref	2.62 (2.51, 2.73)	1.22 (0.57, 2.6)	0.98 (0.39, 2.43)	2.15 (1.93, 2.38)	0.47 (0.21, 1.06)	0.16^† (0.05, 0.47)	0.0002
GM-CSF	0.26 (0.05, 0.47)	Ref	0.32 (0.25, 0.39)	1.38 (0.47, 4.03)	-	0.13 (−0.01, 0.27)	0.58 (0.19, 1.78)	-	0.0351
G-CSF	1.84 (1.57, 2.11)	Ref	1.91 (1.79, 2.02)	1.16 (0.57, 2.38)	0.71 (0.26, 1.92)	2.08 (1.93, 2.23)	1.83 (0.81, 4.15)	3.6^†† (1.02, 12.73)	0.18
MIP-1β^d	0.69 (0.23, 1.15)	Ref	0.94 (0.83, 1.05)	1.57 (0.84, 2.94)	1.73 (0.79, 3.82)	0.7 (0.48, 0.93)	1.02 (0.52, 1.98)	0.61 (0.25, 1.52)	0.085

Abbreviations:CI confidence interval, KRST Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, OR odds ratio, aOR adjusted odds ratio. For cytokine and growth factor abbreviations, we refer to the text.
*One way analysis of variance test in a bivariable analysis.
^aSix variables qualified for inclusion in the multivariable model but only four (IL-1α, IP-10, G-CSF, and MIP-1β) variables remained in the final model after the model selection process. Although, IL-1β was highly significant in the bivariable analysis, it was eliminated during the model selection because it was highly correlated with IL-1α (Pearson’s correlation coefficient = 0.65).
^b19/208 values missing.
^cStronger evidence of association was observed when pregnant women and Tanzanian women (stage of menstrual cycle at time of sampling not known) were excluded (p = 0.09).
^dWeaker evidence of association was observed when pregnant women and Tanzanian women (stage of menstrual cycle at time of sampling not known) were excluded (p = 0.27).
^†Adjusted P-value < 0.001.
^††Adjusted P-value = 0.01.

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