Factors associated with problem drinking among women employed in food and recreational facilities in northern Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: There is growing evidence that alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk of HIV infection. To determine factors associated with problem drinking, we analyzed data collected in two prospective cohorts of at-risk female food and recreational facility workers in northern Tanzania. METHODS: We enrolled HIV seronegative women aged 18-44 years and employed in the towns of Geita, Kahama, Moshi, and Shinyanga. At enrolment, women were interviewed to obtain information about alcohol use, using CAGE and AUDIT screening scales, and risk factors for HIV infection. Blood and genital samples were collected for detection of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). We characterized alcohol use, concordance, and agreement of the scales, and examined the associations between characteristics of participants and problem drinking as defined by both scales using logistic regression. Lastly, we assessed problem drinking as a risk factor for recent sexual behavior and prevalent STIs. RESULTS: Among enrollees, 68% women reported ever drinking alcohol; of these 76% reported drinking alcohol in the past 12 months. The prevalence of problem drinking was 20% using CAGE and 13% using AUDIT. Overall concordance between the scales was 75.0% with a Kappa statistic of 0.58. After adjusting for age, independent factors associated with problem drinking, on both scales, were marital status, occupation, facility type, increasing number of lifetime sexual partners, and transactional sex in the past 12 months. In addition, women who were problem drinkers on either scale were more likely to report having ≥ 1 sexual partner (CAGE: aOR = 1.56, 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.10-2.23; AUDIT: aOR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.34-3.00) and transactional sex (CAGE: aOR = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.26-2.56; AUDIT: aOR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.04-2.18), in the past 3 months. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that interventions to reduce problem drinking in this population may reduce high-risk sexual behaviors and contribute in lowering the risk of HIV infection.

Identification of candidate genes at the corticoseptal boundary during development.

Cortical midline glia are critical to the formation of the corpus callosum during development. The glial wedge is a population of midline glia that is located at the corticoseptal boundary and expresses repulsive/growth-inhibitory molecules that guide callosal axons as they cross the midline. The glial wedge are the first cells within the cortex to express GFAP and thus may express molecules specific for glial maturation. The corticoseptal boundary is a genetically defined boundary between the cingulate cortex (dorsal telencephalon) and the septum (ventral telencephalon). The correct dorso-ventral position of this boundary is vital to the formation of both the glial wedge and the corpus callosum. Our aim was to identify genes expressed specifically within the glial wedge that might be involved in either glial differentiation, formation of the corticoseptal boundary or development of the corpus callosum. To identify such genes we have performed a differential display PCR screen comparing RNA isolated from the glial wedge with RNA isolated from control tissues such as the neocortex and septum, of embryonic day 17 mouse brains. Using 200 different combinations of primers, we identified and cloned 67 distinct gene fragments. In situ hybridization analysis confirmed the differential expression of many of the genes, and showed that clones G24F3, G39F8 and transcription factor LZIP have specific expression patterns in the telencephalon of embryonic and postnatal brains. An RNase Protection Assay (RPA) revealed that the expression of G39F8, G24F3 and LZIP increase markedly in the telencephalon at E16 and continue to be expressed until at least P0, during the period when the corpus callosum is forming.