ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to learn if HIV1 infection was associated with leprosy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil by comparing the prevalence rates of 1.016 leprosy patients tested on a voluntary basis and 78.482 blood donors. A cross-sectional survey of anti-HIV1 antibodies was conducted in Rio de Janeiro, from 1990 to 1992 for this purpose. HIV1 prevalence found among leprosy patients was (3 cases) 2.9 per 1000, and among blood donors was (282 cases) 3.8 per 1000. Such difference was not significant (OR = 0.79; p = 0.69). Since HIV1 cases were only found among male leprosy patients, further analysis excluded females. Male leprosy patients showed a slightly higher prevalence of HIV1 than blood donors before and after age adjustment. However, this result was not statistically significant (adjusted odds ratio = 1.38, 95% CI 0.35-4.5; p = 0.83). These data do not provide evidence that leprosy and HIV1 infection are associated in the State of Rio de Janeiro. This is consistent with similar investigations conducted elsewhere.
PIP: A cross-sectional study conducted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1990-92 failed to document any association between HIV-1 infection and leprosy. Tested for antibodies to HIV were 1016 leprosy patients and 78,482 volunteer blood donors. The HIV prevalence was 2.9/1000 (3 cases) among leprosy patients and 3.8/1000 (282 cases) among blood donors (odds ratio, 0.79)--a nonsignificant difference. When standardized for age, these rates were 2.8/1000 and 2.9/1000, respectively. Since all 3 HIV cases in the leprosy group were men, the analysis was repeated to exclude females. Although male leprosy patients were 28% more likely to be HIV-infected than male blood donors (odds ratio, 0.79), the difference was, again, not significant. A similar lack of association has been reported in studies from other areas where both HIV and leprosy are prevalent. However, a large-scale nested case-control study in a cohort at high risk of HIV is necessary to more definitively reject this association.
