{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T20:42:05Z","timestamp":1777927325177,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,8,4]],"date-time":"2021-08-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1628035200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":365,"URL":"http:\/\/www.sagepub.com\/licence-information-for-chorus"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000200","name":"United States Agency for International Development","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000200","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Government of South Africa"},{"name":"MRU, University of the Witwatersrand"},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100004441","name":"Styrelsen f\u00f6r Internationellt Utvecklingssamarbete","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100004441","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001322","name":"South African Medical Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001322","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000865","name":"Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000865","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100006661","name":"United Nations Population Fund","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100006661","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Int J STD AIDS"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,10]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Pubic hair grooming is common in many countries, but little is known about this practice in Africa. Grooming has been positively associated with self-reported sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and safety of pubic hair grooming in two South African settings. In KwaZulu-Natal province, 1218 women participating in the Evidence for Contraceptive Options and HIV Outcomes Trial completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire on pubic hair grooming practices, and were tested for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). Pubic hair removal was reported by 705 (58.2%) of women. Common areas for grooming were the pubis (n\u2009=\u2009616, 99.4%), vagina\/perineum (n\u2009=\u2009529, 85.3%) and inner thigh (n\u2009=\u2009255, 41.1%). Half (n= 361, 51.4%) removed some or all of their pubic hair at least monthly and 59 (8.4%) once a week or more often. Common side effects reported included itching (n\u2009=\u2009439, 77.1%) and pimples and blisters (n\u2009=\u2009249, 43.9%). A quarter (n\u2009=\u2009173, 24.5%) of groomers had a positive result for either or both of CT and NG compared to a fifth (n\u2009=\u200998, 19.4%) of non-groomers (p-value\u2009&lt;\u20090.033). There was no difference between the groups for HSV-2. After adjusting for age and having more than one sex partner, groomers were significantly more likely to have CT or NG than non-groomers (OR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.19\u20131.45). Similarly, those who experienced hair removal-related complications had 1.26 times the odds of testing positive for CT or NG (95% CI: 1.03\u20131.54). The practice of pubic hair removal is common and reporting of side effects is high in this population. These injuries could put women at a higher risk of STIs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/0956462420941709","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,8,5]],"date-time":"2020-08-05T02:44:28Z","timestamp":1596595468000},"page":"1034-1039","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Pubic hair grooming practices in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: prevalence, side effects and association with sexually transmitted infections"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"31","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4169-4112","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mags","family":"Beksinska","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"MatCH Research Unit (MRU), Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Durban, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bethel","family":"Lulie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ivana","family":"Beesham","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MatCH Research Unit (MRU), Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Durban, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jenni","family":"Smit","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MatCH Research Unit (MRU), Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Durban, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,8,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1743-6109.2010.01935.x"},{"key":"bibr2-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12905-019-0868-1"},{"key":"bibr3-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jamadermatol.2016.2154"},{"key":"bibr4-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1557988316661315"},{"key":"bibr5-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpag.2011.06.015"},{"key":"bibr6-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1055\/s-0037-1604472"},{"key":"bibr7-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12905-018-0661-6"},{"key":"bibr8-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bodyim.2013.01.002"},{"key":"bibr9-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsxm.2019.04.005"},{"key":"bibr10-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0221303"},{"key":"bibr11-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/jsm.12763"},{"key":"bibr12-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/sextrans-2016-052687"},{"key":"bibr13-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajog.2014.01.036"},{"key":"bibr14-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jamadermatol.2017.2815"},{"key":"bibr15-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.urology.2012.08.025"},{"key":"bibr16-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.nwh.2017.06.001"},{"key":"bibr17-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(19)31288-7"},{"key":"bibr18-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Harris PA, Taylor R, Minor BL, et al. The REDCap consortium: Building an international community of software platform partners.\n                      Journal of Biomedical Informatics\n                      2019; 95: 103208.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbi.2019.103208"},{"key":"bibr19-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0956462417740292"},{"key":"bibr20-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/jsm.12031"},{"key":"bibr21-0956462420941709","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11199-010-9922-z"},{"key":"bibr22-0956462420941709","unstructured":"Simbayi L, Zuma K, Zungu N, et al.\n                      South African National HIV Prevalence, Incidence, Behaviour and Communication Survey, 2017\n                      . 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