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PubMed1994

Cervical cytomegalovirus infection in prostitutes and in women attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic.

This study aimed to determine the frequency of, and to define factors associated with, cervical shedding of cytomegalovirus (CMV) in highly sexually active women (licensed prostitutes) and in women attending a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic. Cervical specimens obtained from 195 licensed prostitutes and 187 STD patients aged 17-50 years were compared for the presence of cervical CMV with specimens from 70 women of the same ages attending a gynecologic clinic. Cervical CMV was identified by the presence of a CMV-specific immediate-early gene sequence amplified by the polymerase chain reaction. Cervical CMV prevalences of 38.9% and 34.8% were found for licensed prostitutes and STD patients, respectively. These rates were significantly higher than the 24.3% cervical CMV prevalence for women attending the gynecologic clinic. The data suggest that frequent sexual contact with many sexual partners is responsible for the high frequency of cervical CMV observed in licensed prostitutes. The interaction between CMV and urogenital bacterial infections is a plausible explanation for the high cervical CMV prevalence in STD patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Seroprevalence and risk factors for HIV transmission among female prostitutes: a community survey.

To estimate the prevalence of HIV-1, HIV-2 and HTLV-I among female prostitutes, and to identify possible risk factors for HIV transmission in this collective, sera and epidemiological information from 71 prostitutes were obtained. Using the local network of a well-defined area in southern Catalonia, all prostitution bars were identified and their working women interviewed using a previously validated questionnaire. Eight sera were found positive for HIV-1 antibodies. Of those, 7 sera were also positive in the HIV-2 assay, probably as a result of cross-reactivity between the two viruses. All sera were negative for HTLV-I antibodies. In our area, where intravenous drug users (IVDUs) account for the majority of AIDS cases, the use of drugs by the prostitutes or by their steady sexual partners seems to be the most important risk factor for HIV infection in that group.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Psychological characteristics of a sample of male street prostitutes.

Two hundred and eleven male street prostitutes were interviewed and administered the SCL 90-R psychological symptom checklist. When compared to nonpatient normals, male prostitutes exhibited significantly higher levels of psychopathology. However, when compared to adult psychiatric outpatients, male prostitutes exhibited significantly less psychopathology on all symptom dimensions of the SCL 90-R except paranoid ideation. The male prostitutes' elevated scores on the psychological symptom checklist may reflect their response to an often dangerous and chaotic environment. However, it is as likely that their psychological functioning leads them to this particular milieu.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1980

Young male prostitutes: a psychosocial study.

A 3-year study of male prostitutes is presented with relevant data about their origin, their social and family background, education, sexuality, drug and alcohol use, and delinquency. A classification has been developed which separates the male prostitutes into four groups: group I, Full-time street and bar hustlers; II, full-time call boys or kept boys; group III, part-time hustlers, usually students or employed; and group IV peer-delinquents, who use prostitution and homosexuality as an extension of other delinquent acts [assault and robbery]. Similarities and differences between the four groups in terms of their psychosocial background, motives, and type of operation are described. Limited follow-up data indicate that only part-time male prostitutes, who continue in education or vocational training, have a reasonable expectation of an eventually stable social adjustment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

[Health consciousness and risk behavior of prostitutes].

Regular examinations of prostitutes may reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases in this high risk group. Therefore since April 1988 regular mandatory examinations have been offered by the regional health office in cooperation with the Department of Dermatology of the Ruhr-University of Bochum. The aim of this study was to evaluate the acceptance and efficiency of such an examination. The study was based on anonymous questionnaires. Mean age of the 80 prostitutes was 31.4; 67 of then were born in Germany. 78 of the women always used condoms, while 71 thought that condoms prevent STDs. Three women suffered from a STD in the last 12 months. The majority the women (75 from this 80 prostitutes) did not perceive the examination as discrimination, while 71 felt the examinations were of high quality. These results indicate that regular mandatory examinations should be part of health prevention care of prostitutes and that they are well accepted and tolerated by these women.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

The social organization of transvestite prostitution and AIDS.

This paper reports on the social organization of 53 transvestite prostitutes in Atlanta (GA), U.S.A. The central focus of the paper is on the relationship between social organization, social networks, and HIV risk behaviors in three geographic areas. In one of the areas the HIV infection rate was significantly higher than in the other two areas (81.1% vs 62.5% and 12.5%). Transvestites from the high prevalence area are strongly committed to transvestism and, consequently, are socially isolated. They report the lowest income, engaged in passive anal sex, have a history of syphilis and report inconsistent condom use with paying sex partners. Transvestite prostitutes in the other two areas are less committed to transvestism and more integrated into non-transvestite networks. In the area with the lowest HIV rate the transvestites are integrated into the non-transvestite male prostitute social organization so are discouraged from engaging in receptive anal sex, especially without condoms. The differences in HIV seroprevalence as well as related behavioral differences are linked to social organization among the transvestite prostitutes and to their participation in risky sex such as receptive anal intercourse.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Personal characteristics of adolescent prostitutes and rearing attitudes of their parents: a structural equation model.

The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors of family structure, personality traits, and other variables among adolescent prostitutes. The subjects comprised 158 adolescent prostitutes in a halfway house as the case group and 65 high school girls as the control group. Data were collected by using questionnaires about demographic information, the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Parental Bonding Instrument. A high rate of tobacco, alcohol and drug use was found in the case group. Numerous factors distinguished the cause-effect relationship among adolescent prostitutes. Of all risk factors studied, maternal protection, paternal care, neurotic characteristics, tobacco use, discontinuous schooling and a dysfunctional family had the most direct effect. These results provide useful information for the evaluation of and interventions with adolescent prostitution.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Incidences of antibodies to hepatitis B, herpes simplex and cytomegalovirus in prostitutes.

The 170 prostitutes registered by the local public health authority (165 female, 5 male; ages 17-61) were serologically investigated by ELISA and CFT for the presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) markers (n = 170), anti-CMV (n = 118) and anti-HSV 2 antibodies (n = 117). 4.7% (1.2%) were found to be HBs- (HBe-)antigen carriers; 1.2% revealed an acute hepatitis B (seroconversion of anti-HBc or IgM-anti-HBc highly positive); 17.1% presented a past and resolved hepatitis B (anti-HBs positive). These rates exceeded those of 125 female age-matched control persons considerably, out of whom only 2.4% (0.8%) presented HBs-(HBe-) antigen and 3.2% anti-HBs antibodies. 90% of the prostitutes investigated proved to be anti-CMV IgG (1.7% IgM) antibody positive and were compared to healthy blood donors (47% IgG, 0% IgM-anti-CMV antibody carriers) and other CMV risk groups: pregnant women 56 (13), patients in hemodialysis 61 (0), hemophiliac patients 69 (0), patients after kidney transplantation 90 (16) and after open-heart surgery 87 (4) % anti-CMV IgG (IgM) antibody carriers. An AIDS patient suffered from simultaneous HBV and CMV infections. The risk of HSV 2 infection is among prostitutes (38.5% seropositives) five times as high as among female age-matched control persons (7.2% seropositives, n = 125). These results confirm that prostitutes must be regarded as a risk for the spread of hepatitis BV and CMV- and HSV 2-caused diseases in the population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Constructing a complex of contagion: the perceptions of AIDS among working prostitutes in Costa Rica.

This paper explores the perceptions of HIV/AIDS held by a group of women working as prostitutes in San José, Costa Rica. Adopting the theoretical perspective of critical medical anthropology, the analysis of the prostitutes' constructions of HIV/AIDS is linked to the political and historical context of power that constitutes a medical cultural hegemony. The way in which the research participants associate threats of HIV/AIDS with violence to create a complex of contagion that both perpetuates and challenges the hegemonic model of disease is discussed. Specifically, biomedicine's designation of the prostitute as the "vector" of disease is contrasted with the position that the prostitutes create for themselves. Through a critical analysis of this complex of contagion, oppressive power structures come into sharp focus.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1980

Hepatitis B serology in Greek prostitutes: significance of the different serum markers.

One hundred and ninety-eight prostitutes (mean age 41.8 years) and 117 control women of low socio-economic class (mean age 43.8 years) were tested by solid-phase radioimmunoassay for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), its antibody (anti-HBs) and antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc). The prevalence of HBsAg was higher among prostitutes (11% v. 4%, P approximately 0.06). This difference was accounted for by the higher infection rate of prostitutes to hepatitis B virus (HBV) 97% v. 45%, P less than 10(-6)), since the proportion of HBsAg carriers among those infected was practically the same between the two groups (11% v. 9%). Among the previously infected prostitutes who did not become carriers the majority (75%) were positive for both anti-HBc and anti-HBs, whereas among control women about half (52%) were positive only for anti-HBc.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Tinea cruris in female prostitutes.

Tinea cruris is a dermatophytosis that mainly affects males. Infections in females are rare, and there are no known data on the frequency of tinea cruris in female prostitutes. We describe seven female prostitutes with tinea cruris with on age range of between 19-34 years (mean 25.3). Each prostitute had a mean of 50 sexual partners per month. Four Trichophyton mentagrophytes (57.1%), 2 T rubrum (28.6%), and 1 Epidermophyton floccosum (14.3%) isolates were cultered. Tinea cruris transmission is mainly indirect, but direct contact may serve to transmit the disease in some cases, and the spread of active lesions in prostitutes through multiple contacts among with their clients is possible.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

[Anonymous STD counselling versus mandatory checks for prostitutes--what is effective in STD prevention?].

BACKGROUND: When in 2001 in Germany the new act for control of infectious diseases came into force, mandatory checks for prostitutes were abolished. The consequences of this paradigm shift in STD prevention are being judged controversially even today. The public health department of the city of Cologne, like others, adapted its programme, staff, equipment, and diagnostic procedures to the new requirements. The department for venereal disease control was converted into a walk-in-clinic for STD and now forms part of a comprehensive STD and Aids prevention unit. The present article illustrates the changes by comparing the clients and the STD numbers of the years 1994 and 2004. METHOD: The following data were compared: number of consultations, number of clients regarding sex, occupation in sex business, health insurance, national or ethnic background, frequency of consultation, number of STD. RESULTS: In 1994, almost all clients of the department for venereal disease control were female prostitutes. 74% of them worked in established sex business venues with a high grade of professionalism, few STD cases were diagnosed. In 2004, the STD clinic was open for anybody considered to be at risk and not having access to the regular health care system. Only 49% of the patients were prostitutes, either female or male. 25% of the clients were male. 68% of the patients were migrants, many of them without any legal status and without any access to regular health care. A high number of acute STD and subsequent disorders that required treatment was registered. Besides the STD-related services, a great need for gynaecological and urological differential diagnostics as well as a high demand for counselling and provision of other problems of sexual health were observed. DISCUSSION: The data show that an STD department providing comprehensive services anonymously and free of charge will reach a broader range of highly vulnerable persons in comparison with an obligatory VD check of prostitutes. The high numbers of STD and STD-related disorders demonstrate the improved effectiveness of the new service.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Prostitution and the sex discrepancy in reported number of sexual partners.

One of the most reliable and perplexing findings from surveys of sexual behavior is that men report substantially more sexual partners than women do. We use data from national sex surveys and studies of prostitutes and their clients in the United States to examine sampling bias as an explanation for this disparity. We find that prostitute women are underrepresented in the national surveys. Once their undersampling and very high numbers of sexual partners are factored in, the discrepancy disappears. Prostitution's role in the discrepancy is not readily apparent because men are reluctant to acknowledge that their reported partners include prostitutes.

Female↗
PubMed1990

MMPI characteristics of professional prostitutes: a cross-cultural replication.

The personality characteristics of 41 professional prostitutes in Brussels, Belgium, were examined using either a French- or a Flemish-language version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). A comparison group of 96 nonprostitute women was recruited from among employees of an international airline. Age differences within the prostitute group were also examined. In some contrast to prior research findings, the prostitute group was significantly more deviant on several indicators of psychopathology. Also, older prostitutes were more deviant than younger ones. An appreciable number of the women in this profession are in need of psychological treatment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Psychiatric and characterological factors relevant to excess mortality in a long-term cohort of prostitute women.

We previously reported on the causes of death in a 30-year open cohort of 1,969 prostitute women. Excess mortality was mostly accounted for by homicide, suicide, drug and alcohol toxicity, and AIDS, with AIDS deaths occurring in prostitutes identified as injecting drug users. Presently, we examine observed mortality trends in light of the literature on personality and psychopathological characteristics reported for prostitute women, and with reports linking such personality characteristics to excess mortality. We observed consistency between the observed pattern of mortality in prostitute women and mortality that would be expected in a sample of persons at high risk for antisocial and borderline personality disorder.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

"Nobody gives a damn if I live or die": violence, drugs, and street-level prostitution in inner-city Hartford, Connecticut.

Drawing on the tenets of critical medical anthropology, this article illustrates the relation between violence, drug use, prostitution, and HIV risk in a group of 35 impoverished women living in inner-city Hartford, Connecticut. The study presented here provides an illustration of the role prostitution plays in the SAVA (Substance Abuse, Violence, and AIDS) syndemic as conceptualized by Singer (1996). By focusing on the life experiences of women engaged in street-level prostitution, this article attempts to fill the gaps in research that deals simultaneously with these mutually reinforcing epidemics. It shows that street-walkers' continuous exposure to violence, both as victims and as witnesses, often leaves them suffering from major emotional trauma. In the absence of adequate support services, women who have been victimized may turn to drug use in an attempt to deal with the harsh realities of their daily lives. In turn, the need for drugs, coupled with a lack of educational and employment opportunities, may lead women into prostitution. Life on the street increases women's risk for physical, emotional, and sexual abuse as well as their risk for HIV/AIDS. Exposure to traumatic experiences deepens the dependence on drugs, completing a vicious cycle of violence, substance abuse, and AIDS risk.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Absence of infection with human immunodeficiency virus in Peruvian prostitutes.

We serologically tested 140 female prostitutes (mean age, 30 years) from the port city of Callao, Peru, for evidence of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Chlamydia trachomatis, Treponema pallidum, herpes simplex viruses (HSV) I and II, and hepatitis B virus. The women had worked as prostitutes for an average of 5 years; one-fourth serviced foreign visitors exclusively, mainly sailors. Only 4 women used condoms, and only 1 woman gave a history of parenteral narcotic abuse, although 53% were regularly exposed to unsterile needles outside the medical setting for injections of vitamins, antibiotics, or steroids; another 29% are thought to probably use unsterile needles. None of the 140 prostitutes screened was seropositive for HIV, despite a very high prevalence of antibody to T. pallidum (24%), C. trachomatis (97%), HSV I and II (100%), and hepatitis B (51%); 5% were HbsAg positive. These data indicate that HIV has not yet been introduced into female prostitutes in the Peruvian port city. We believe that widespread use of unsterile needles in developing countries, such as Peru, represents a serious health threat and will amplify the spread of HIV, once introduced.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Clinical algorithms for the screening of women for gonococcal and chlamydial infection: evaluation of pregnant women and prostitutes in Zaire.

A substantial proportion of women with gonococcal and/or chlamydial infection are asymptomatic. Thus active case detection is problematical, particularly in developing countries, where facilities and materials for laboratory testing are limited. We assessed the diagnostic validity of the hierarchical clinical algorithms recommended by the World Health Organization as well as that of a nonhierarchical scoring system, using data for 1,160 pregnant women (a low-prevalence group) and 1,222 prostitutes (a high-prevalence group) in Kinshasa, Zaire. Neisseria gonorrhoeae and/or Chlamydia trachomatis was detected in 6.5% and 31.0% of pregnant women and prostitutes, respectively. No single variable that was both sensitive (> 60%) and specific (> 60%) was associated with infection. A simple hierarchical algorithm based only on reported symptoms had a sensitivity of 48.0% and 54.9% and a specificity of 75.2% and 52.2% for the screening of pregnant women and prostitutes, respectively. A second algorithm that included a speculum examination had a sensitivity of only 29.3% but a specificity of 85.3% in pregnant women. When a nonhierarchical scoring system was used, the sensitivity was 72.0% and 71.0% and the specificity was 73.5% and 55.8% for pregnant women and prostitutes, respectively. Scoring systems that incorporate risk markers as well as symptoms and signs may represent affordable alternative methods of screening for gonococcal and/or chlamydial infections among women in resource-poor settings.

Adult↗