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Risk factors for invasive cervical cancer among Latinas and non-Latinas in Los Angeles County.

A case-control study among white women in Los Angeles County was conducted to investigate etiologic factors that might explain the high rates of invasive cervical cancer among Latinas. Two hundred patients with invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix and matched (age, sex, preferred language, and neighborhood) controls were interviewed, 98 pairs in English and 102 pairs in Spanish. Seven factors were found to contribute independently and significantly (P less than .01) to risk, each after adjustment for the other six: years since last Pap smear, years of education (protective), frequency-years douching, pack-years of smoking, years of barrier contraceptive use (protective), number of sexual partners before age 20, and recognized episodes of genital warts. An eighth variable, interval in years between menarche and first intercourse, was the second variable to enter the stepwise logistic regression analysis but lost its statistical significance when sexual partners before age 20 entered the model. Together, these eight variables accounted for almost 99% of the risk. There were no significant interactions between any of these variables and age, language of interview, or birth in a Latin country. There was no increased risk associated with use of oral contraceptives, either before or after adjustment for the other significant factors. Compared to English-speaking controls, Spanish-speaking controls smoked less, douched less, had fewer sexual partners before 20, and had essentially the same average interval between menarche and first intercourse and the same average number of episodes of genital warts; however, they had had a longer interval since their last Pap smear, fewer years of barrier contraceptive use, and fewer years of education. Education, presumably a correlate of an inadequately measured etiologic risk factor (possibly papillomavirus infection), was responsible for the greatest difference in risk between the Spanish- and English-speaking cases.

Adolescent↗

The relationship between drug abuse and sexual performance among women on methadone. Heightening the risk of sexual intimate violence and HIV.

PURPOSE: Through in-depth interviews with 38 women recruited from methadone maintenance treatment programs (MMTPs), this paper examines subjective experiences regarding the effects of illicit drugs on the women's sexual behavior and that of their male sexual partners, mainly changes in libido, performance, and pleasure. METHODS: This paper addresses several questions: (1) How does drug use affect women's sexual performance? (2) How does drug use affect their partners' sexual performance and the sexual dynamics in their relationship? (3) How does drug use affect these women and their partners differently? (4) How are sexual disparities between women and their partners, heightened by drug use, linked with sexual and physical violence and risk of HIV? RESULTS: Three major themes are discussed: some women believe that drugs, particularly heroin, increase their sexual performance, libido, and pleasure, but for others, drugs, particularly crack cocaine, inhibit their sexual performance and desire. Many of the women believe that crack cocaine and heroin enhance a man's sexual desire, performance, and pleasure. However, other women deem that these drugs are responsible for their partners' abusive and coercive behavior. The data further indicate that gender disparities, in how crack cocaine and heroin affect the sexual dynamics between drug-involved couples, often lead to sexual coercion and physical abuse. CONCLUSION: This in-depth narrative study of abused women in MMTPs draws implications from their subjective experiences for understanding the contextual mechanisms linking drug use, intimate sexual abuse, and HIV risk. It also suggests implications for designing HIV prevention programs that take into account the differential effects of drugs on sexual intimate violence and HIV risk. Education about the effects of drugs on sexuality and on the risks of sexual violence and HIV transmission is crucial for drug-involved women.

Adult↗

Contagiousness of acute hepatitis B. Secondary attack rates in household contacts.

In order to define the hazard of household exposure to patients with acute hepatitis B, in the absence of persistent hepatitis B surface antigen (HBSAg), 98 household contacts of 42 patients with the acute disease were interviewed and tested for HBSAg, antibody to HBSAg (anti-HBS), and serum transaminases shortly after identification and at 3-month intervals for at least 12 months. Most of the index cases with acute hepatitis B were young men and many had used illicit drugs parenterally before the onset of illness. Three of the household contacts had HBSAg detected on initial testing, and 2 of these were carriers with elevated serum transaminase levels. The 3rd HBSAg-positive contact developed acute hepatitis within 2 weeks. This appeared to represent a coprimary infection. Fourteen contacts had anti-HBS on initial evaluation and were considered immune as a result of prior experience with hepatitis B. Of 81 susceptible contacts (neither HBSAg nor anti-HBS on initial screening), 13 were spouses or sexual partners and 2 of these developed acute hepatitis B at 4 and 6 months after the onset of illness in their respective index cases; another developed anti-HBS at 6 months. Thus, 3 (23%) of 13 exposed spouses or sexual partners developed evidence of hepatitis B infection during the surveillance period. In contrast, no evidence of hepatitis B infection related to household exposure was found in 68 parents, siblings, and other domestic contacts. These data confirm the contagiousness of hepatitis B for household contacts of acute cases and suggest that the risk is confined to spouses and sexual partners. These persons appear to be prime candidates for prophylaxis with hepatitis B immune globulin.

Acute Disease↗

Importance of sexual transmission of hepatitis C virus in seropositive pregnant women: a case-control study.

The mode of hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission in patients who deny parenteral exposure is still not understood. Seroprevalence studies of anti-HCV in sexually promiscuous populations and in spouses of infected patients have given contradictory results. We investigated the role of sexual transmission of HCV in a case-control study of risk factors for infection in a series of 43 anti-HCV positive pregnant women and 172 matched controls (4 for each case). In the univariate analysis, the following factors were associated significantly with anti-HCV seropositivity: low social class, unmarried, history of abortion, wounds which were sutured, tattooes, sharing toiletries with the partner, sexual contact outside the partnership without condom use, blood transfusion, and intravenous drug abuse, but only the last 3 factors remained significantly associated with HCV infection in multiple logistic regression analysis. The relative risk of HCV infection increased according to the increased number of sexual partners. Thus sexual transmission must be considered a possible mode of infection in HCV infected persons without parenteral exposures.

Adult↗

Risk factors for pelvic inflammatory disease. A case control study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is associated with major medical and economic consequences for women of reproductive age. Identification of the risk factors associated with PID is crucial to efforts for prevention of these consequences. GOAL: To identify risk factors and markers for symptomatic PID. STUDY DESIGN: A case-control study of 234 women with PID treated at San Francisco General Hospital between October 1986 and August 1989 and 122 controls attending the Women's Clinic at the same institution. The two groups were comparable in sociodemographic, reproductive, sexual, and medical history. RESULTS: Risk factors and markers identified by univariate analysis were < 12 years education, gravidity > 0, parity > 0, spontaneous abortion > 0, lack of a birth control method, > 1 male sexual partner in the previous 30 days, younger than 18 years at age of first sex, history of gonorrhea, sex during the previous menses, douching, exposure to nongonococcal urethritis in the previous 30 days, and history of crack cocaine use. With multivariate analysis to control for confounders the risks still identified were parity > 0, (odds ratio [OR] 4.44; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.34 to 8.42), > 1 sexual partner in the previous 30 days (OR 11.08; 95% CI 4.31 to 28.5), sex during the previous menses (OR 5.22; 95% CI 1.88 to 14.48), and a lack of contraception (OR 7.6; 95% CI 4.10 to 14.09). CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicated that certain reproductive behaviors could be targeted for public health attention and risk reduction interventions to reduce the incidence of PID. These include limiting numbers of sexual partners and encouraging the use of barrier methods of contraception for sexually transmitted disease prevention. Another finding was that it is probably best to avoid sexual intercourse during the menses. The question of douching as a risk factor for PID could not be answered by this study.

Adolescent↗

[Molecular-epidemiological characteristics of basic foci of the HIV epidemic among substance abusers in Russia].

A serological test has been developed, allowing a rapid and reliable differentiation between envA and envB genotypes in the sera from HIV-1-infected IDUs and their sexual partners. We analyzed 556 specimens from HIV-1-seropositive IDUs and their sexual partners. The sera were collected in five regions of Russia with the greatest number of HIV-1-infected IDUs. High homogeneity of HIV-1 in each of the regions was observed. In Tver, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, and Krasnodar 100% sera tested belonged to the env subtype A. All the patients from the Kalinigrad region were infected with the env subtype B virus, which is apparently a recombinant.

Gene Products, env↗

Relative and attributable risk for cervical cancer: a comparative study in the United States and Italy.

The attributable risk for invasive cervical cancer in the US and Italian populations has been estimated in relation to main 'aetiological' factors (number of sexual partners, age at first intercourse, parity, oral contraceptive use and smoking) and history of Pap smear using data from two case-control studies conducted in the US (466 cases and 788 controls) and Italy (528 cases and 456 controls). The risk of cervical cancer increased in both studies with multiple sexual partners, decreasing age at first intercourse, higher parity, oral contraceptive use and smoking. Levels of exposure to various risk factors were markedly different in the two countries (ie number of sexual partners, frequency of oral contraceptive use and smoking were greater in the US). Multiple Pap smears and a short interval since last Pap smear strongly reduced risk of cervical cancer in both populations, although screening was much more widespread in the US study population, with only 9% of controls reporting no previous smear versus 38% of the Italian control series. The combined population attributable risk for the five 'aetiological' risk factors was slightly greater in the US study (76%) than in the Italian one (69%), chiefly because of a higher prevalence of exposure to sexual factors in US study women. A substantially larger proportion of Italian cases were due in part to deficiency in screening (46% in US and 84% in Italy). Thus, further inclusion of the effect of screening programmes (number of Pap smears and time since last Pap) led to an overall proportion of cases attributable to the examined risk factors of 87% in the US and 95% in Italy.

Adult↗

Herpes simplex virus type 2 infection of heterosexual men attending a sexual health centre.

OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors, particularly circumcision status, associated with serological evidence of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection of heterosexual men. DESIGN: A cross-sectional case-control study employing an anonymous delinked interviewer-administered questionnaire, clinical examination, and a type-specific serological test for HSV-2. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Three hundred consecutive heterosexual male patients at a public sexually transmissible diseases (STD) clinic in Sydney, Australia. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Associations between serological evidence of HSV-2 infection and history of genital herpes or contact with genital herpes, history of other common STDs, and demographic and behavioural factors such as age, education level, number of sexual partners and lack of circumcision. RESULTS: One hundred and ninety-four patients (64.7%) had antibodies to HSV-2 but only 24% of these gave a history of genital herpes. A history of genital herpes or sexual contact with genital herpes, reported total lifetime number of sexual partners, failure to complete high school and a history of non-gonococcal urethritis or genital warts were associated with serological evidence of HSV-2 infection at the univariate level. Neither increasing age nor lack of circumcision was associated with HSV-2 infection. Following multivariate analysis only the lifetime number of partners and failure to finish high school were significantly strong predictors of HSV-2 infection. CONCLUSION: This is the highest prevalence of HSV-2 infection ever detected in an Australian population and one of the highest recorded globally. As younger men were as commonly infected as older men, and an earlier (1985) study involving the same clinic yielded a lower prevalence, it appears that a high level of ongoing HSV-2 transmission is occurring among Sydney heterosexuals. Increased awareness of this fact could enhance safer sex campaigns.

Adolescent↗

Prevention of hepatitis C in Italy: lessons from surveillance of type-specific acute viral hepatitis. SEIEVA collaborating Group.

Using data from the surveillance system for type-specific acute viral hepatitis, the temporal incidence trend of non-A, non-B acute hepatitis and risk factors for acute hepatitis C have been evaluated in Italy. The association between hepatitis C and the potential risk factors (odds ratios, OR) was estimated using hepatitis A patients as controls. The independent roles of the different risk factors were estimated by multiple logistic regression analysis. The incidence of non-A, non-B acute hepatitis declined from 5 per 100 000 to 1 per 100 000 between 1985 and 1996. Anti-HCV data collected by SEIEVA since 1991 showed that 60% of patients with non-A, non-B acute hepatitis were positive for antibodies to the hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) at the time of hospitalization. During the 6 months prior to the disease onset, the most frequently reported risk factors were multiple sexual partners, other parenteral exposure and intravenous drug use; transmission by blood transfusion declined from 20% in 1985 to 2% in 1996. On multivariate analysis, intravenous drug use (OR=35.5; 95% CI=23.1-54.4), surgical intervention (OR=4.6; 95% CI=3.3-6.5), dental treatment (OR=1.5; 95% CI=1.1-1.9) and two or more sexual partners (OR=2.2; 95% CI=1.6-3.0) were all independent predictors of hepatitis C. These findings indicate that HCV infection is decreasing in Italy. Intravenous drug use, multiple sexual partners, surgical intervention and dental therapy are the main modes of transmission.

Adolescent↗

Beyond gender: the basis of sexual attraction in bisexual men and women.

The construct of sexual orientation has typically considered the gender of the sexual partner as defining whether the individual is homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual, and the Kinsey scale conceptualises bisexuality as a point midway between homosexuality and heterosexuality. We propose an alternative model which places homosexuality and heterosexuality at one end of a continuum as gender-linked choices of sexual partner, and bisexuality at the other as nongender-specific. As a test of this model, we administered repertory grids to nine bisexual men and women to investigate the characteristics of sexual attraction in individuals for whom gender of partner was not a critical variable. Results supported the hypothesis that gender is not a critical variable in sexual attraction in bisexual individuals. Personality or physical dimensions not related to gender and interaction style were the salient characteristics on which preferred sexual partners were chosen, and there was minimal grid distance between preferred male and preferred female partners. These data support the argument that, for some bisexual individuals, sexual attraction is not gender-linked.

Adult↗

Botswana's Tebelopele voluntary HIV counseling and testing network: use and client risk factors for HIV infection, 2000-2004.

BACKGROUND: : HIV services, including voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) and antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, expanded rapidly in Botswana from 2000 through 2004. METHODS: : Client data from Botswana's Tebelopele VCT network were analyzed to describe clients, factors associated with HIV infection, and trends in VCT use. RESULTS: : Tebelopele provided free, anonymous, same-day HIV tests for 117,234 clients from 2000 through 2004. Before ARV therapy was available, 8.3% of clients sought a test because of illness, and 26.3% were HIV-positive. After ARV therapy became available, 20.1% of clients sought a test because of illness, and 38.8% were HIV-positive. Most VCT clients (82.7%) were unmarried; 89.8% reported no or 1 sexual partner in the last 3 months; and 50.2% of unmarried clients reported always using condoms in the last 3 months. In multivariate analysis, higher educational level, marriage, and always using condoms were associated with a lower risk of HIV. Having only 1 recent sexual partner was associated with less condom use and a higher risk of being HIV-positive for men. CONCLUSIONS: : VCT has been well accepted in Botswana. Analysis of this data set supports efforts to promote 100% condom use and to emphasize that partner reduction must be combined with condom use and HIV testing to protect against HIV.

Adult↗

Risk factors of ectopic pregnancy.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the risk factors of ectopic pregnancy in Thai women. SETTING: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University. DESIGN: Case controlled study. MATERIAL AND METHOD: From 1999 to 2000, 208 cases of ectopic pregnancy and 781 controls (postpartum women) were included in the study. The women were interviewed by trained research interviewers using a standardized questionnaire. Detailed information regarding age at first intercourse, number of sexual partners, history of changing partners within 6 months, previous obstetric history, history of spontaneous and criminal abortion, history of pelvic inflammatory disease, smoking, history of endometriosis and history of previous ectopic pregnancy was collected. RESULTS: By multivariate analysis, 5 variables remained as strong and independent risk factors for ectopic pregnancy: the number of sexual partners > or = 2 (OR = 3.02, 95% CI (1.75-5.23), vaginal delivery > or = 1 (OR = 0.005, 95% CI (0.002-0.0015), history of pelvic inflamatory disease (OR = 3.17, 95% CI (1.40-7.19), smoking (OR = 2.49, 95% CI (1.36-4.55), infertility (OR = 2.74, 95% CI (1.35-5.54)). CONCLUSION: Problems of multiple sexual partners, pelvic inflammatory disease, smoking and infertility were the main risk factors of ectopic pregnancy in Thai women.

Adult↗

Clinical and epidemiologic features of primary HIV infection.

BACKGROUND: The acute clinical events surrounding the acquisition of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have not been well characterized. OBJECTIVE: To further define the clinical and epidemiologic presentation of primary HIV infection. DESIGN: Descriptive cohort study. SETTING: University research clinic. PATIENTS: 46 adults (43 men and 3 women) with primary HIV infection who enrolled in the study a median of 51 days after HIV seroconversion. MEASUREMENTS: Documentation of recent HIV seroconversion. Standardized collection of demographic characteristics and sexual contact history, results of tests for HIV RNA, HIV culture, and T-cell subsets. RESULTS: 41 of 46 patients (89%) developed an acute retroviral syndrome. Primary HIV infection was infrequently diagnosed at the initial medical encounter, even in persons enrolled in routine HIV screening programs. Median numbers of sexual partners 6 months and 1 month before acquisition of HIV were three and one, respectively; 21 patients (46%) reported having had only one partner in the month before seroconversion. Of the 12 patients who could identify the precise date of and activity leading to seroconversion, 4 reported having only oral-genital contact. CONCLUSIONS: Primary HIV infection causes a recognizable clinical syndrome that is often underdiagnosed, even in persons enrolled in a program of routine surveillance for HIV infection. Frequency of sexual contact and overall numbers of sexual partners in this group of homosexual men who acquired HIV were markedly lower than those seen a decade ago. Acquisition of HIV does occur, even in persons with relatively few sexual partners. Increased attention to oral-genital contact as a means of acquiring HIV appears to be warranted.

Adult↗

Contraceptive use in random samples of Greenlandic and Danish women--changes from 1986 to 1988.

As part of a study of risk factors for cervical cancer, the possible change was assessed in the use of condoms after AIDS campaigns. In 1986, samples of 800 women aged 20-39 years were drawn at random from Nuuk/Godthåb (Greenland) and Nykøbing Falster (Denmark). A total of 586 and 661 women were interviewed in Greenland and Denmark, respectively. In 1988, new random samples of 150 women were drawn from the same areas. Totally, 129 Greenlandic and 126 Danish women were included in the study. From 1986 to 1988 the prevalence of ever having used condoms increased significantly among Greenlandic women aged 20-29, whereas no statistically significant changes were observed in Denmark. This pattern was independent of the lifetime number of sexual partners. Neither in Greenland nor in Denmark did the mean lifetime number of sexual partners change from 1986 to 1988.

Contraception Behavior↗

Effect of expedited treatment of sex partners on recurrent or persistent gonorrhea or chlamydial infection.

BACKGROUND: Many sex partners of persons with gonorrhea or chlamydial infections are not treated, which leads to frequent reinfections and further transmission. METHODS: We randomly assigned women and heterosexual men with gonorrhea or chlamydial infection to have their partners receive expedited treatment or standard referral. Patients in the expedited-treatment group were offered medication to give to their sex partners, or if they preferred, study staff members contacted partners and provided them with medication without a clinical examination. Patients assigned to standard partner referral were advised to refer their partners for treatment and were offered assistance notifying partners. The primary outcome was persistent or recurrent gonorrhea or chlamydial infection in patients 3 to 19 weeks after treatment. RESULTS: Persistent or recurrent gonorrhea or chlamydial infection occurred in 121 of 931 patients (13 percent) assigned to standard partner referral and 92 of 929 (10 percent) assigned to expedited treatment of sexual partners (relative risk, 0.76; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.59 to 0.98). Expedited treatment was more effective than standard referral of partners in reducing persistent or recurrent infection among patients with gonorrhea (3 percent vs. 11 percent, P=0.01) than in those with chlamydial infection (11 percent vs. 13 percent, P=0.17) (P=0.05 for the comparison of treatment effects) and remained independently associated with a reduced risk of persistent or recurrent infection after adjustment for other predictors of infection at follow-up (relative risk, 0.75; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.57 to 0.97). Patients assigned to expedited treatment of sexual partners were significantly more likely than those assigned to standard referral of partners to report that all of their partners were treated and significantly less likely to report having sex with an untreated partner. CONCLUSIONS: Expedited treatment of sex partners reduces the rates of persistent or recurrent gonorrhea or chlamydial infection.

Adult↗

Impact of erectile dysfunction (ED) on sexual life of female partners: assessment with the Index of Sexual Life (ISL) questionnaire.

Using the Index of Sexual Life (ISL) questionnaire specifically designed to measure the impact of erectile dysfunction (ED) on female partners' sexuality, we demonstrated that ED has a negative impact on the sexual life of female partners, specifically on their sexual satisfaction and sexual drive. Further analyses showed lower sexual satisfaction and sexual drive for women reporting a disturbance or change in their own sexual lives than for women who did not. Older women had lower scores compared to younger women, independent of whether their partner had ED or not. The ISL will be useful in treatment decisions when assessing the couple's satisfaction with treatment for ED.

Adult↗

Sexual network analysis of a gonorrhoea outbreak.

OBJECTIVES: Sexual partnerships can be viewed as networks in order to study disease transmission. We examined the transmission of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in a localised outbreak in Alberta, Canada, using measures of network centrality to determine the association between risk of infection of network members and their position within the sexual network. We also compared risk in smaller disconnected components with a large network centred on a social venue. METHODS: During the investigation of the outbreak, epidemiological data were collected on gonorrhoea cases and their sexual contacts from STI surveillance records. In addition to traditional contact tracing information, subjects were interviewed about social venues they attended in the past year where casual sexual partnering may have occurred. Sexual networks were constructed by linking together named partners. Univariate comparisons of individual network member characteristics and algebraic measures of network centrality were completed. RESULTS: The sexual networks consisted of 182 individuals, of whom 107 were index cases with laboratory confirmed gonorrhoea and 75 partners of index cases. People who had significantly higher information centrality within each of their local networks were found to have patronised a popular motel bar in the main town in the region (p = 0.05). When the social interaction through the bar was considered, a large network of 89 individuals was constructed that joined all eight of the largest local networks. Moreover, several networks from different communities were linked by individuals who served as bridge populations as a result of their sexual partnering. CONCLUSION: Asking clients about particular social venues emphasised the importance of location in disease transmission. Network measures of centrality, particularly information centrality, allowed the identification of key individuals through whom infection could be channelled into local networks. Such individuals would be ideal targets for increased interventions.

Adolescent↗

The CO2 laser for recurrent and therapy-resistant condylomata acuminata.

The medical records of 48 patients who underwent laser vaporization of therapy-resistant or recurrent condylomata acuminata were studied with regard to history of immunosuppression, location of original lesion, type and duration of therapy, and whether magnification devices were used prior to or during therapy. The genitalia of the patients' sexual partners were examined in all cases in which the condylomata recurred after initial control of the lesions with conventional methods. In 46 of the 48 cases, possible reasons for the failure of conventional therapy could be found: unresponsive to chemical therapy (11 patients); reinfection by the sexual partner (4); immunosuppression (8); several factors (6); and incomplete eradication of the lesion (20). Thirty-eight of the 48 patients (79%) were treated successfully with one-time laser ablation of the lesions. Six patients with recurrent condylomata after laser therapy underwent a second laser treatment, and four of the six patients (total, 87%) have remained free of disease. The laser appears to be an effective method of treatment for recurrent or persistent condylomata acuminata provided that (1) the patient is not immunosuppressed, (2) the potentially infected sexual partner is examined and treated, if necessary, and (3) the external genitalia, including the anus, vagina and cervix, are carefully examined colposcopically to rule out the persistence of small lesions.

Adolescent↗