ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES. Prostitutes are a greater risk for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection than the general population. We studied the influence of age and time as prostitute on HBV infection. We also examined the relationship between syphilis and HBV infection in a cohort of female prostitutes. STUDY DESIGN. The presence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc), antibodies to hepatitis D virus (anti-HD) and treponemal antibodies (FTA-ABS) were determined in 368 prostitutes, of whom 147 were submitted to medical and serological follow-up every six months to evaluate the influence of syphilis in the transmission of hepatitis B. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION. The prevalence of HBsAg was 4.6%, of anti-HBc 31.2%, anti-HD 0.5% and FTA-ABS 35.0%. There was a statistical association between the presence of treponemal antibodies and anti-HBc (P = 0.022). The cohort study performed shows that the accumulated incidence of HBV infection in the FTA-ABS positive prostitutes (24.6%) was significantly higher than that of the FTA-ABS negative group (9.7%) (RR = 2.544; P = 0.034). Our results indicate that syphilis could facilitate the heterosexual transmission of HBV infection.
Subject(s)
Hepatitis B/transmission , Sex Work , Syphilis/complications , Adult , Age Factors , Antibodies, Bacterial/blood , Cohort Studies , Confidence Intervals , Female , Hepatitis Antibodies/blood , Hepatitis B/complications , Hepatitis B/epidemiology , Hepatitis D/epidemiology , Hepatitis Delta Virus/immunology , Humans , Prevalence , Risk Factors , Spain/epidemiology , Time Factors , Treponema pallidum/immunologyABSTRACT
The age and sex distribution of 5,076 cases of S.T.D. dealt with between 1982 and 1988 at the Dermatological Dispensary of the Territorial Social Welfare Service in Valladolid are studied. The maximum frequency of S.T.D. (24.1% of cases) corresponded to the age group between 21 and 25 years, which was also the period for maximum prevalence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (26.3%), Gardnerella vaginalis (30.7%), Candida albicans (27.4%) and acuminata condyloma (33.4%). Syphilis (19.9%), Chlamydia trachomatis (27%), Ureaplasma urealyticum (24.6%), Mycoplasma hominis (25.0%), Trichomonas vaginalis (23.0%) and genital herpes had maximum prevalence in the group between 26 and 30 years. Women were affected at younger ages than males. 16.9% of women with some S.T.D. were between 16 and 20 years of age, while only 6.5% of males with S.T.D. were in this age-group (p less than 0.001).
