{"doi":"10.4314/hmrj.v25i1.1","title":"Prevalence and risk factors associated with bacterial vaginosis among female sex workers in Jos, Nigeria","abstract":"Background: Female sex workers (FSWs), especially those based in brothels, are at high risk for reproductive tract infections, including bacterial vaginosis (BV). BV, characterized by a disruption in normal vaginal flora, has been linked to increased susceptibility to other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and cervical abnormalities. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of BV and identify associated risk factors among brothel-based FSWs in Jos, Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 175 brothel-based FSWs aged 18–55 years in Jos. Participants underwent gynecological examination, including collection of vaginal swabs for BV diagnosis using Amsel's criteria. Cervical samples were also collected for Pap smear cytology. Sociodemographic and clinical data were obtained through structured interviews. Descriptive statistics summarized participant characteristics, while chi-square tests assessed associations between BV and categorical variables, with statistical significance defined at p<0.05. Results: BV was diagnosed in 69.8% of participants. Abnormal cervical cytology (ASC-US or worse) was observed in 16.9%. Significant associations were found between BV and Trichomonas vaginalis infection ( 𝑥² = 5.259, p = 0.022), BV and vulvovaginal candidiasis ( 𝑥² = 5.187, p = 0.023), and BV and abnormal cervical cytology ( 𝑥² = 5.387, p = 0.020). Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of BV among brothel-based FSWs in Jos and is significantly associated with other vaginal infections and abnormal cervical cytology. These findings highlight the need for integrated screening and management of BV and other STIs to improve reproductive health outcomes in this vulnerable population.","journal":"Highland Medical Research Journal","year":2025,"id":588097,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":0,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9566,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2025-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1504460,"name":"Jonathan A Karshima","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1504461,"name":"Yop T Gwom","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1504462,"name":"Florence David Onyirimba","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1504463,"name":"Philip O Akpa","orcid":null,"position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":371013,"name":"Atiene S. Sagay","orcid":"0000-0002-5715-8365","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":371009,"name":"Godwin Imade","orcid":"0000-0001-5221-7699","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":447614,"name":"Jonah Musa","orcid":"0000-0002-7836-0976","position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1504459,"name":"Maryam J Ali","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:59:43.096742Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}