Table 1: Socio-demographics, behavioural and hygiene characteristics of the 251 women living in N'Djamena, Chad, recruited from the community.

Variable / category Study women (N = 251)
n (%) [95% CI]*
Age (years)
< 30 78 (31.1) [25.4–37.2]
≥ 30 ̶ < 40 66 (26.3) [21.0–32.2]
≥ 40 ̶ < 50 69 (27.5) [22.1–33.5]
≥ 50 38 (15.1) [10.9–20.2]
Marital status
Married or living in a couple 203 (80.9) [75.5–85.6]
Single 48 (19.1) [14.4–24.5]
Occupation
Unemployed 137 (54.6) [48.2–60.9]
Student 36 (14.3) [10.3–19.3]
Employed 78 (31.1) [25.4–37.2]
Education level
Never schooled 47 (18.7) [14.1–24.1]
Elementary school 43 (17.1) [12.7–22.4]
High school 80 (31.9) [26.2–38.0]
University 81 (32.3) [26.5–38.4]
Age at first sexual intercourse (years)
≤ 17 136 (54.2) [47.8–60.5]
≥ 18 110 (43.8) [37.6–50.2]
No response 5 (2.0) [0.6–4.6]
Number of sexual partners in everyday life
One regular partner 201 (80.1) [74.6–84.8]
Several partners [1 to 5] 41 (16.3) [12.0–21.5]
Past history of STIs**
Yes 11 (4.4) [2.2–7.7]
No 240 (95.6) [92.3–97.8]
HIV-1 status
Positive 9 (3.6) [1.7–6.7]
Negative 242 (96.4) [93.3–98.3]
HBV status
Positive 19 (7.6) [4.6–11.6]
Negative 232 (92.4) [88.4–95.4]
HCV status
Positive 8 (3.2) [1.4–6.2]
Negative 243 (96.8) [93.8–98.6]
Vaginal tampon use
Never*** 215 (85.7) [80.7–89.7]
Sometimes*** 14 (5.6) [3.1–9.2]
Often*** 4 (1.6) [0.4–4.0]
Always 18 (7.2) [4.3–11.1]
Regular genital toilet
Yes 201 (80.1) [74.6–84.8]
      Water 110 (54.7) [47.6–61.7]
      Water + soap 91 (45.3) [38.3–52.4]
No 50 (19.9) [15.2–25.4]
Postcoital genital toilet
Yes 230 (91.6) [87.5–94.7]
      Water 141 (61.3) [54.7–67.6]
      Water + soap 89 (38.7) [32.4–45.3]
No 21 (8.4) [5.3–12.5]
Abnormal vaginal discharge on exam
Yes 120 (47.8) [41.5–54.2]
No 131 (52.2) [45.8–58.5]
Use of contraceptives
Yes 66 (26.3) [21.0–32.2]
Pill 17 (25.8) [15.8–38.0]
Intrauterine device 11 (16.7) [8.6–27.9]
Condom 7 (10.6) [4.4–20.6]
Other 31 (47.0) [34.6–59.7]
No 185 (73.7) [67.8–79.0]

* The frequency of each variable is presented with their 95% confidence interval in brackets; ** Including infections due to N. gonorrhoeae, C. trachomatis, and syphilis; *** Alternative of vaginal tampon used for feminine hygiene during menstruation was the use of sanitary napkins. HIV-1: Human immunodeficiency virus; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus