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Fig. 1 | BMC Women's Health

Fig. 1

From: Differential sexual network connectivity offers a parsimonious explanation for population-level variations in the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis: a data-driven, model-supported hypothesis

Fig. 1

Schematic illustration of interactions between sexual network connectivity, frequency distribution of vaginal community state types (CSTs) and the prevalence of STIs using the example of non-Hispanic blacks and non-Hispanic whites in the USA. Non-Hispanic blacks have been noted to have higher network connectivity - largely due to a high prevalence of sexual partner concurrency [67]. This enhanced network connectivity facilitates the spread of STIs as well as the bacteria responsible for bacterial vaginosis (BV) and possibly less resilient L. iners vaginal community state types. BV and the STIs then further facilitate the spread of one another. (The distribution of vaginal CSTs is taken from a study by Ravel et al. [4], the prevalence ratios of STIs are taken from [67, 77]. The community state types are described by the presence of BV or the predominant Lactobacillus species present e.g. ‘L. iners’ refers to a Lactobacillus iners dominant type. The numbers around the pie-charts denote the percent each CST comprises)

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