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PubMedDate not supplied

Ultrastructural characteristics of Gardnerella vaginalis infection in the heterosexual couple.

Adhesion and penetration of Gardnerella vaginalis into the male urethral and female vaginal epithelial cells were evaluated in a prospective cohort study of infected females and their sexual partners. Vaginal secretions of 10 women with culture proven G. vaginalis infection and semen samples of their asymptomatic husbands were analyzed with conventional optical and electron microscopy. G. vaginalis was isolated in 50% of the male sexual partners of women harboring the microorganism. G. vaginalis adheres to the plasmatic membrane and penetrates into the cytoplasm of both vaginal and urethral epithelial cells. The ability of G. vaginalis to colonize the male lower genital tract may have clinical relevance with respect to the role of the male partner in the reinfection of women.

Bacterial Adhesion↗
PubMed2002

[Genital human papillomavirus infection identification by molecular biology among asymptomatic women].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether epidemiological factors may be associated to genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 975 women seen at a public health service for cervical cancer screening in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Women were considered infected if tested positive to HPV either by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) or Hybrid Capture II (HC-II) methods. Women with genital HPV infection were compared to women without infection drawn from the same population. RESULTS: The study enrolled 975 women. The HPV prevalence (both methods combined) in this population was 27%. However, when each diagnostic method is analyzed separately, HPV prevalence was 15% and 16% for HC-II and PCR, respectively. Unconditional multiple logistic regression was used to correlate disease status to women characteristics. A positive association was found with HPV infection for the following variables: years of schooling (11 years: OR=2.05; 95%CI =1.31; 3.20), married (OR=1.69; 95%CI=0.78; 2.00), number of lifetime sexual partners (2 partners: OR=1.67; 95%CI=1.01; 2.77; 4 or +: OR=2.18; 95%CI=1.15; 4.13), age at first intercourse (15-16 years: OR=4.05; 95%CI=0.89; 18.29). CONCLUSIONS: Various factors may contribute to genital HPV infection, especially those related to sexual behavior (young age at first intercourse, high number of lifetime sexual partners, and marital status), and those related to social and economic status (years of schooling).

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Human papillomavirus DNA in urine samples of women with or without cervical cancer and their male partners compared with simultaneously collected cervical/penile smear or biopsy specimens.

Infection of specific types of high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) causes cervical cancer in women. Conventional test for genital HPV infection requires collection of scraped cervical cells or biopsy specimens, which involves invasive procedures. Utility of non-invasive urine sampling for detection of HPV in women and their male sexual partners is controversial. The validation of this urine-based HPV DNA test is of immense value not only in screening large population and children but also for HPV vaccine monitoring in adolescents. We examined the frequency of high risk HPV types 16 and 18 in simultaneously collected urine samples and cervical scrapes or biopsy specimens from women with cervical cancer and their single lifetime male sexual partners in order to validate the utility of urine sampling as a reliable non-invasive method for detection of genital HPV infection. Thirty women with invasive cervical cancer and their husbands along with 30 age-matched normal healthy women including their husbands were recruited for the study. Cervical biopsies/scrapes from women subjects and penile scrapes from their husbands and urine samples from all of them were collected before taking biopsy or scrapes. HPV-L1 consensus primer as well as high-risk HPV (HPV 16 and 18) type-specific oligo-primers were used for PCR detection of HPV DNA. The total frequency of HPV in women with cervical cancer was found to be 83% (25/30) while it was only 67% (20/30) in their male partners but there was virtually no difference in results between urine and scrape or tissue biopsy either in women or their male partners. Although healthy women and their husbands showed similar frequency of HPV infection both in urine and scrape samples, there was a significant difference (p=0.05) in the prevalence of high risk HPV type 16 in women with cervical cancer (70%) and their male partners (30%). Similar was the trend between control women and their male partners. The results also showed a very high prevalence of HPV type 16 among Indian women with cervical cancer while its frequency was significantly low in their single lifetime male partners. The case by case matching of HPV positivity and negativity between urine and cervical/penile scrapes or biopsies obtained from women and their male partners demonstrated that the non-invasive urine sampling can be reliably used for screening genital HPV infection in both men and women.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Behavioural and neurophysiological aspects of sexual imprinting in zebra finches.

Sexual imprinting has been defined as the process by which young animals learn the characteristics of their future sexual partners. It is a two stage process including an acquisition period where features of the social environment are learnt, and a stabilization process by which, under the guidance of the previously acquired social information, a preference for a sexual partner is established and stabilized, so that it cannot be altered again subsequently. The stabilization process is short (1 h) and can be controlled experimentally. This allows for the design of experiments to examine the physiological events accompanying the imprinting process. During the stabilization process, four areas of the forebrain are more activated than in any other behavioural context. These are the hyperstriatum accessorium/dorsale (HAD), the archi-neostriatum caudale (ANC), the medial neo/hyperstriatum (MNH) and the lateral neo/hyperstriatum (LNH). Isolation during development reduces the spine density of neurons in HAD and ANC and enhances it in MNH and LNH. Subsequent exposure to a female (which stabilizes the previously acquired preference in behavioural experiments) for 1 week leads to an enhancement of spine densities in HAD and ANC, and to a reduction in MNH and LNH. The enhancement in HAD and ANC is reversible by a second isolation period after the exposure to a female, the reduction within MNH and LNH is not. This irreversibility indicates that the reduction process within MNH and LNH may be the anatomical manifestation of the imprinting process. The examination of spine densities in the four brain areas after two experiments which have been shown previously to affect the stabilization process in behavioural experiments, confirms this idea.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Meta-analysis of measures of sexual activity and prostate cancer.

We conducted a meta-analysis of the association between prostate cancer and aspects of sexual activity. The data suggest an elevated relative risk (RR) of prostate cancer among men with a history of sexually transmitted infections. This was observed with both random- and fixed-effects models (RR = 1.4; 95% CI = 1.2-1.7; N = 17 studies; heterogeneity P = 0.14), especially for syphilis (RR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.3-3.9; N = 6; heterogeneity P = 0.47). Risk of prostate cancer is also associated with increasing frequency of sexual activity (RR = 1.2 for an increase of three times per week; 95% CI = 1.1-1.3; N = 12). However, these studies are heterogeneous (P < 0.001). Increasing number of sexual partners is also associated with prostate cancer (RR = 1.2 for an increase of 20 partners; 95% CI = 1.1-1.3; N = 16; heterogeneity P = 0.11). The data do not support associations with multiple marriages, age at first intercourse, or age at first marriage. These results indicate an association between prostate cancer and sexually transmitted infections, suggesting that infections may represent one mechanism through which prostate cancer develops. The mechanism through which frequency of sexual activity may be related to prostate cancer is unclear.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Establishing efficient interview periods for gonorrhea patients.

From February through December 1978, venereal disease casefinders in Polk County, Iowa used an expanded interview period of at least 120 days to interview 983 gonorrhea patients for sexual partner information. We grouped patients according to sex and clinical findings and evaluated the percentage of all new cases identified by time intervals within the expanded interview period. Ninety-one per cent of all untreated, infected sexual partners of symptomatic males were identified by using an interview period which spanned the interval from date of treatment to 15 days before symptom onset. In contrast, the traditional 30-day interview period missed 23 per cent of those untreated, infected partners named by women with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), 34 per cent of those partners named by women with uncomplicated gonorrhea, and 29 per cent of those named by asymptomatic men. The Polk County data suggest the importance of basing interview periods upon a patient's sex and clinical presentation.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

[Prognostic factors of stage IB and IIA carcinoma of the cervix treated by surgery].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate prognostic factors in patients with stage IB-IIA of cervical carcinoma treated by surgery. METHODS: Between December 1992 and December 2001, 111 patients with stage IB-IIA cervical cancer surgically treated were analyzed. Median age 40 years. According to 1994 FIGO Staging System: IB 80 (IB1 40, IB2 40) and IIA 31. There were 93 cases of squamous cell carcinoma (83.5%), 17 cases of adenocarcinoma (15.3%) and one case of small cell carcinoma. All patients were treated by radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy, 74 patients had preoperative adjuvant radiotherapy, 24 patients had postoperative adjuvant treatment. Kaplan-Meier method was used to evaluate the survival, the related prognostic factors were assessed by Cox regression and chi(2) test. RESULTS: The overall 5-year survival rate was 85.9%, being 89.1%, 90.7% and 78.4% for stage IB1, IB2 and IIA, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that tumor size (hazards ratio [HR] = 1.479, P = 0.152), tumor type (HR = 1.440, P = 0.264), clinical stage (HR = 1.380, P = 0.354), adjuvant treatment (HR = 1.210, P = 0.450), lymph node metastasis (HR = 1.432, P = 0.540), endocervical involvement (HR = 2.244, P = 0.036), depth of myometrial invasion (HR = 3.295, P = 0.06) and multiple sexual partners during pregnancy (HR = 10.172, P = 0.000) were of prognostic significance. The latter two were the most important factors indicative of poor prognosis. CONCLUSION: The depth of myometrial invasion and multi-partners combined with pregnancy are closely related to the prognosis while the pre- and/or postoperative adjuvant therapy should be considered for stage IB-IIA cervical cancer with deep myometrial invasion and in pregnant patients with multiple sexual partners.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1978

Neoplasia and dysplasia of the cervix uteri and contraception: a possible protective effect of the diaphragm.

Among the 17,032 women included in the Oxford-Family Planning Association contraceptive study, 65 developed biopsy proven cervical neoplasia (including dysplasia) prior to 1 September 1977. The incidence rate in diaphragm users (0.17 per 1000 woman-years of observation) was much lower than the rates in oral contraceptive users or intrauterine device users (0.95 and 0.87 respectively). This difference could not be explained in terms of confounding variables, nor was it attributable to a lower frequency of cervical smearing among diaphragm users within the clinics. Detailed information about age at first intercourse, numbers of sexual partners and the frequency of cervical smearing outside the clinics was obtained from 52 of the women with cervical neoplasia and 139 matched controls. Diaphragm users were less likely to have had coitus at an early age and had had materially fewer sexual partners than users of the other two methods of contraception. After adjusting for the effects of these variables, however, the risk of cervical neoplasia in diaphragm users was still only about one quarter that in the users of the other methods. Patterns of smearing varied little between users of the various contraceptive methods. Smoking emerged as a major "risk factor" for cervical neoplasia in this study. This probably implies that the smoking habit reflects some important aspect of sexual behaviour relevant to the production of the disease that we have been unable to measure.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Initial STD visits by adolescent females, Dallas County, Texas.

Sexually active adolescents are at high risk for unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. We identified a cohort of 6089 women aged 13 to 21 years who in 1985 either delivered an infant at Parkland Hospital (3154) or used the outpatient clinics (2935). We reviewed those records and others in the Dallas County sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic for the period 1983 through 1988 to determine the prevalence of visits to the Dallas County STD clinic by pregnant and nonpregnant adolescents, STD diagnoses at initial visit, whether STD visits and diagnoses varied by pregnancy status or ethnic background, and how the women were referred to the STD clinic. Similar percentages of nonpregnant (13%) and pregnant (11%) women had an STD visit, and most adolescents who visited the STD clinic had an STD diagnosis made. Gonorrhea and syphilis were the STDs diagnosed most frequently in both pregnant and nonpregnant adolescents. Regardless of pregnancy status, black adolescents were 7.3 times more likely to have an STD visit. Referral by a sexual partner was the second most common reason that adolescents sought STD care. Our study provides only minimal estimates of STDs among adolescents but indicates STDs, regardless of pregnancy status, are a more common medical problem than has been reported previously. Referral by sexual partners may be an important way to reach adolescents at risk for STDs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Risk factors associated with genital HPV infection.

The genital human papillomavirus (HPV) is directly associated with cervical cancer, the second most common form of cancer among women. The study was guided by a synergistic interaction model of HPV risk factors. The relative risk of selected risk factors and cofactors associated with genital HPV infections was identified. Women at highest risk for acquiring an HPV infection had (a) initiated sex before age 15, (b) more than four lifetime sex partners, (c) more than one "once only" sexual partner, and (d) chosen male sex partners who previously had > 16 other female sex partners. Cofactors that increased risk by possibly contributing to progression of genital HPV infection were initiating oral contraceptive use before age 15 and having acquired more than three other sexually transmitted diseases. Past and current smokers were at a slightly higher risk compared to nonsmokers. Although other studies have identified risk factors, few have identified the relative risk of these factors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Sexual transmission of hepatitis C virus and HIV-1 infection in female intravenous drug users.

We examined the relationship between the presence of antibody to HCV and sexually transmitted diseases in 151 female, intravenous drug users aged 17-43 years. Anti-HCV was present in 49 of 66 HIV-1-negative women (74.2%), and 63 of 85 HIV-1-positive women (74.1%). Anti-HCV seropositivity was significantly related to sexually transmitted infections (Ureaplasma urealyticum infections excluded) in HIV-1-seronegative women, but not in HIV-1-positive women. Also, in HIV-1-negative subjects. Trichomonas vaginalis infections (and infections with M. hominis) were significantly related to anti-HCV seropositivity, and a positive relation between the number of sexual partners and the presence of anti-HCV was demonstrated. In HIV-1-positive subjects a shared use of needles and syringes was more likely, and an increased parenteral exposure to HCV may decrease the relative contribution by sexual transmission. However, in HIV-1-negative subjects, sexual transmission of HCV appears to be both a possible and important means of transmission.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Drug dependence, parenting responsibilities, and treatment history: why doesn't mom go for help?

Despite longstanding concern that the presence of children deters drug-dependent women from entering treatment, there have been few empirical tests of the relationship between parenting responsibilities and treatment-seeking behavior. In this study, the relationship between number of biological children and treatment history was examined in a cohort of 153 women seeking methadone maintenance treatment. In a standard multiple regression analysis that also allowed for the potential influence of (a) age, (b) education, (c) ethnic minority status, (d) cohabitation with a sexual partner, (e) chronicity of opioid use, and (f) knowledge of HIV infection, there was a significant, negative relationship between number of children and number of earlier contacts for drug abuse treatment. Ethnic minority status and cohabitation with a sexual partner were also associated with fewer earlier contacts; greater chronicity and knowledge of HIV infection were associated with more earlier contacts. Moreover, there was significant moderation of the negative relationship between parenting responsibilities and treatment history by (a) ethnic minority status, (b) cohabitation, and (c) chronicity of use. Within a cross-sectional research design, the findings highlight ways parenting responsibilities may interact with other factors over time to influence the treatment-seeking behavior of drug-dependent women.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Fertility rates in 238 HIV-1-seropositive women in Zaire followed for 3 years post-partum.

Birth-control use and fertility rates were prospectively determined in 238 HIV-1-seropositive and 315 HIV-1-seronegative women in Kinshasa, Zaire, during the 36-month period following the delivery of their last live-born child. No women delivered children during the first follow-up year. Birth-control utilization rates (percentage use during total observation time) and fertility rates (annual number of live births per 1000 women of child-bearing age) in the second year of follow-up were 19% (107.4 per 1000) for HIV-1-seropositive women and 16% (144.7 per 1000) for HIV-1-seronegative women. In the third year of follow-up these rates were 26 (271.0 per 1000) and 16% (38.6 per 1000) for HIV-1-seropositive and HIV-1-seronegative women, respectively (P less than 0.05 for the difference in birth-control utilization and fertility rates between seropositive and seronegative women in the third year of follow-up). Seven (2.9%) of the 238 HIV-1-seropositive women initially included in the study brought their sex partners in for HIV-1 testing; three (43%) of these men were found to be HIV-1-seropositive. New HIV-1 infection did not have a dramatic effect on the fertility of seropositive women. The nearly uniform unwillingness of HIV-1-seropositive women to inform husbands or sexual partners of their HIV-1 serostatus accounted in large part for the disappointingly high fertility rates in seropositive women who had been provided with a comprehensive program of HIV counseling and birth control. Counseling services for seropositive women of child-bearing age which do not also include these women's sexual partners are unlikely to have an important impact on their high fertility rates.

AIDS-Related Complex↗
PubMed1994

Drug use and HIV risk-taking behaviour among injecting drug users not currently in treatment in Sydney, Australia.

This study investigated the drug use patterns and HIV risk-taking behaviour of 200 injecting drug users (IDU) not currently in treatment in Sydney, Australia. Although there was low HIV seroprevalence, unsafe injecting and sexual practices were common. Variables that were predictive of injecting risk-taking were higher level of heroin use, sexual relationship with an IDU and greater polydrug use. Two variables were predictive of sexual risk-taking: higher level of hallucinogen use and sexual relationship with an IDU. Female subjects were significantly more likely to have an IDU sexual partner. A higher level of cannabis use was associated with greater polydrug use and a higher level of amphetamine use was associated with greater use of opiates other than heroin. The findings are discussed in terms of the need for interventions aimed towards reducing sexual risk-taking among users of hallucinogens and towards reducing injecting and sexual risk-taking among IDU and their sexual partners. The potential difficulty in producing behaviour change among polydrug users is highlighted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

The association between abuse in childhood and STD/HIV risk behaviours in female genitourinary (GU) clinic attendees.

OBJECTIVES: To compare and contrast women with a history of child abuse with those who have no history of child abuse on STI/HIV risk behaviours and safer sex beliefs in an inner city UK sample. DESIGN: Cross sectional sample survey. METHODS: Routine female clinic attendees were invited to complete an anonymous self report questionnaire which included background information, sexual and drug risk behaviour, self reported sexually transmitted infections (STIs), psychological distress (Hospital and Anxiety Depression Scale; HADS), Sexual Risk Cognitions Questionnaire (SRCQ), and history of child sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. RESULTS: 137 (45%) of 303 women reported a history of child abuse; all three forms of child abuse--sexual (26%), physical (20%), and emotional (27%) abuse--overlapped. The majority of women reported one sexual partner in the past month, and the majority did not use condoms. Women reporting a history of child abuse were more likely to have had previous STIs (p = 0.007) and to have had more than one STI (p = 0.04) compared with women who had not experienced child abuse. Injecting drug use and commercial sex work were of low prevalence across the whole sample and no group differences were found. Women reporting a history of child abuse had higher HADS anxiety (p = 0.03) compared with women with no history of child abuse. Confidence in using condoms with a sexual partner was not related to child abuse. Women with a history of child abuse reported significantly higher frequency of thoughts reflecting anticipated negative reactions from partners to suggesting condom use (p = 0.02) and judging a partner's risk by their appearance (p = 0.05) compared with women with no history of child abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Comparable rates of child sexual abuse with US studies were found in this UK inner city population of women attending sexual health services. Women who had experienced child abuse were more likely to report ever having had an STI and having had more than one STI. Complex psychological and social factors contribute to difficulties for women in negotiating safer sex including emotional distress, abuse histories, and anticipating a negative reaction from partners. Multifaceted prevention models are needed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Reliability and validity of the sexual life quality questionnaire (SLQQ).

The sexual life quality questionnaire (SLQQ) was developed to evaluate sexual quality of life (QOL) and satisfaction with treatments for erectile dysfunction among patients and their sexual partners. This paper describes the development of the instrument and reports its psychometric properties as observed in two studies involving patients under treatment for erectile dysfunction. The instrument consists of 16 items, 10 of which deal with dimensions of sexual QOL that can be summed to a sexual QOL scale measure. The remaining six items comprise a scale measuring satisfaction with treatment dimensions. The composite sexual QOL and treatment satisfaction scales met established psychometric goals overall and within select subgroups (length of time quartiles, patient/partner). A significant correlation between the treatment satisfaction scale score and the patients' responses to a question asking their likelihood of selecting the method for continued treatment (r: 0.89) showed the measure to be a good indicator of treatment preference. Finally, there were significant differences in sexual QOL scale scores between screening and first treatment, indicating the instrument was responsive and able to detect changes in sexual QOL.

Erectile Dysfunction↗
PubMed2006

Higher prevalence of human papillomavirus infection in migrant women from Latin America in Spain.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate prevalence and determinants of high risk (HR) human papillomavirus (HPV) by country of origin in women attending a family planning centre (FPC) in Alicante, Spain. METHODS: Cross sectional study of all women attending a FPC from May 2003 to January 2004. An ad hoc questionnaire was designed and data were collected prospectively. HR HPV infection was determined through the Digene HPV test, Hybrid Capture II, and positive samples for PCR were directly sequenced. Data were analysed through multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: HR HPV prevalence in 1011 women was 10% (95% CI: 8.2 to 12). Compared to Spaniards (prevalence 8.2%) HR HPV prevalence in Colombians was 27.5% (OR: 4.24 95% CI: 2.03 to 8.86), 23.1% in Ecuadoreans (OR: 3.35 95% CI: 1.30 to 8.63), and 22.73% in women from other Latin American countries (OR: 3.29 95% CI: 1.17 to 9.19). Women with more than three lifetime sexual partners had an increased risk of HR HPV infection (OR 3.21 95% CI: 2.02 to 5.10). The higher risk of HR HPV infection was maintained in Latin American women in multivariate analyses that adjusted for age, number of lifetime sexual partners, and reason for consultation. The commonest HPV types in women with normal cervical smears were HPV-18 (20%), HPV-16 (14%) and HPV-33 (11%). CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of HR HPV is more than three times higher in Latin Americans than in Spaniards. Latin American women's HPV prevalence resembles more that of their countries of origin. It is essential that health service providers identify these women as a priority group in current cervical screening programmes.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The introduction of human immunodeficiency virus into the North Carolina pediatric population.

The authors reviewed the means by which human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositivity was acquired for the 134 seropositive children seen at Duke University Medical Center prior to September 1990. Perinatal transmission occurred in 111 (83%) and blood product transmission in 15 (11%). Of the 108 mothers (there were three sets of siblings) responsible for perinatal transmission, 44 (41%) had acquired their infection while residing in North Carolina. Intravenous (IV) drug use by the mother or her sexual partner was the significant risk factor for maternal infection in 91 (84%) of the total cases and in 38 (86%) of the 44 women infected in North Carolina. The proportion of women who acquired their HIV infection from a sexual partner who was an IV drug user was significantly greater for mothers who were resident in North Carolina when infected compared with mothers infected elsewhere (P less than .001). On the basis of admission to drug treatment programs during the 1990 fiscal year, cocaine is the predominant IV drug used in North Carolina. Admissions to cocaine abuse programs occurred throughout the state, and mothers who acquired HIV infection from IV drug use were more likely to live in counties with a higher frequency of cocaine abuse treatment.

Child↗