title: Prevalence of HIV infection and high-risk characteristics among leprosy patients of south India; a case-control study.
abstract: With the observation of the occurrence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among leprosy patients in our pilot study carried out in Tamil Nadu, South India, a case-control study was planned to explore whether HIV infection is a risk factor for leprosy and to understand the characteristics of HIV infection and high-risk behaviors among leprosy patients. We screened 556 patients and 1004 nonleprosy controls (matching 502 cases for age, sex and area of residence) for HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies. They also were interviewed for personal information on history of blood transfusion, intravenous drug abuse, high-risk sexual behavior, and sexually transmitted diseases. Of the 1019 total cases screened (of both pilot and extended studies), 5 were found to be position for HIV antibodies (HIV-1 = 4, HIV-2 = 1); of the 1019 nonleprosy controls, 6 were positive for HIV-1 antibodies. An analysis by odds ratio revealed no association between leprosy and HIV infection (OR = 0.824, 95% CI = 0.201-3.593). A strong association was found only between high-risk behavior and HIV infection (OR = 5.186, 95% CI = 1.717-15.667). However, unmarried, unmarried after 30 years of age, exposure to spouses of the leprosy patients, and a history of surgery were all observed to be significantly more common among leprosy patients than the controls.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Division, Central Leprosy Teaching and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu, South India.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sekar
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jayasheela
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chattopadhya
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Anandan
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rathinavel
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vasanthi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Subramanian
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Rao
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology; D015498:HIV-2 / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007918:Leprosy / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior