Comparison of characteristics of endemic and growth phase LGV cases (definitions in Methods): unadjusted estimates and 95% CIs
| Variable | Endemic-phase cases (%) | Growth-phase cases (%) | OR | CI (95%) | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proctitis | |||||
| No | 13 (3) | 4 (<1) | 1 | ||
| Yes | 410 (97) | 484 (>99) | 3.836* | 1.241 to 11.857 | 0.010 |
| Genital symptoms | |||||
| No | 133 (31) | 127 (26) | 1 | ||
| Yes | 290 (69) | 361 (74) | 1.303 | 0.977 to 1.738 | 0.0712 |
| Duration of symptoms (days) | |||||
| 0–7 | 131 (38) | 169 (42) | |||
| 8–21 | 113 (32) | 112 (28) | |||
| 22+ | 105 (30) | 122 (30) | |||
| Median† | 13 | 12 | 0.998 | 0.996 to 1.001 | 0.180 |
| Age | |||||
| <35 | 159 (38) | 151 (31) | 1 | ||
| ≥35 | 264 (62) | 337 (69) | 1.344 | 1.021 to 1.769 | 0.348 |
| City | |||||
| London | 285 (67) | 313 (64) | 1 | ||
| Brighton | 14 (3) | 23 (5) | 1.495 | 0.755 to 2.963 | |
| Manchester | 26 (6) | 27 (6) | 0.945 | 0.539 to 1.658 | |
| Elsewhere | 98 (23) | 125 (26) | 1.161 | 0.852 to 1.582 | 0.536 |
| Location of sexual contact | |||||
| UK | 339 (91) | 400 (94) | 1 | ||
| Other European countries | 28 (7) | 20 (5) | 0.605 | 0.334 to 1.094 | |
| Rest of the world | 6 (2) | 6 (1) | 0.847 | 0.270 to 2.652 | 0.239 |
| Number of partners‡ | |||||
| 0–5 | 265 (48) | 288 (52) | |||
| 6–15 | 76 (43) | 101 (57) | |||
| 16+ | 43 (47) | 48 (53) | |||
| Median† | 2 | 3 | 0.994 | 0.985 to 1.003 | |
| New sexual contact‡ | |||||
| Yes | 389 (91) | 442 (91) | 1 | ||
| No | 37 (9) | 46 (9) | 1.085 | 0.689 to 1.709 | 0.722 |
| Sex party | |||||
| No | 397 (94) | 436 (89) | 1 | ||
| Yes | 26 (6) | 52 (11) | 1.821 | 1.115 to 2.972 | 0.014 |
| Internet | |||||
| No | 358 (85) | 397 (81) | 1 | ||
| Yes | 65 (15) | 91 (19) | 1.262 | 0.890 to 1.789 | 0.188 |
| Oral sex: receptive‡ | |||||
| No | 38 (10) | 17 (4) | 1 | ||
| Protected | 13 (4) | 11 (3) | 1.890 | 0.705 to 5.068 | |
| Unprotected | 321 (86) | 392 (93) | 2.729 | 1.512 to 4.927 | 0.002 |
| Oral sex: insertive‡ | |||||
| No | 48 (13) | 19 (5) | 1 | ||
| Protected | 9 (2) | 14 (3) | 3.929 | 1.457 to 10.593 | |
| Unprotected | 316 (85) | 374 (92) | 2.990 | 1.721 to 5.192 | <0.001 |
| Anal sex: receptive‡ | |||||
| No | 17 (6) | 16 (5) | 1 | ||
| Protected | 67 (23) | 76 (22) | 1.205 | 0.565 to 2.570 | |
| Unprotected | 211 (71) | 248 (73) | 1.248 | 0.615 to 2.532 | 0.822 |
| Anal sex: insertive‡ | |||||
| No | 42 (13) | 70 (17) | 1 | ||
| Protected | 68 (20) | 72 (17) | 0.635 | 0.382 to 1.053 | |
| Unprotected | 222 (67) | 276 (66) | 0.745 | 0.489 to 1.136 | 0.204 |
| Fisting: receptive (unprotected)‡ | |||||
| No | 393 (93) | 444 (91) | 1 | ||
| Yes | 30 (7) | 44 (9) | 1.298 | 0.800 to 2.105 | 0.287 |
| Sharing sex toys (unprotected)‡ | |||||
| No | 406 (96) | 449 (92) | 1 | ||
| Yes | 17 (4) | 39 (8) | 2.074 | 1.155 to 3.724 | 0.011 |
| HIV positive | |||||
| No | 83 (20) | 69 (14) | 1 | ||
| Yes | 323 (80) | 415 (86) | 1.545 | 1.088 to 2.195 | 0.014 |
| HCV antibody positive | |||||
| No | 252 (80) | 339 (81) | 1 | ||
| Yes | 64 (20) | 80 (19) | 0.929 | 0.643 to 1.341 | 0.685 |
| STI coinfection | |||||
| No | 269 (64) | 307 (63) | 1 | ||
| Yes | 154 (36) | 181 (37) | 1.029 | 0.786 to 1.349 | 0.831 |
*As the prevalence of proctitis was extremely high in both periods (increasing from 97% to >99%) the OR is a poor estimate of relative risk.
†Entered as a continuous variable in the model.
‡In the 3 months prior to LGV diagnosis.
LGV, lymphogranuloma venereum.