title: Heterosexual transmission of human T cell leukemia/lymphoma virus type I among married couples in southwestern Japan: an initial report from the Miyazaki Cohort Study.
abstract: To identify factors that may modify the heterosexual transmission of human T cell leukemia/lymphoma virus type I (HTLV-I), 534 married couples enrolled in the Miyazaki Cohort Study between November 1984 and April 1989 were studied: 95 husband HTLV-I-seropositive (H+)/wife seropositive (W+), 33 H+/W-, 64 H-/W+, and 342 H-/W-. After 5 years of follow-up, seven seroconversions occurred and clustered significantly among serodiscordant pairs (relative risk [RR] = 41.2); the rate of transmission was 3.9 times higher if the carrier spouse was male (P = .19). Among H+/W- couples, husband's age > or = 60 years strongly predicted seroconversion in the wives (RR = 11.5). All 4 carrier husbands whose wives seroconverted had HTLV-I titers > or = 1:1024 (P = .04) and were anti-tax antibody positive (P = .06). In cross-sectional analysis, total parity also was independently associated with wife's serostatus but only length of marriage with husband's. Overall, sexual transmission of HTLV-I was primarily from older infected husbands to their wives, with husbands' viral status being an important factor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115.
authors.forename: S O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Stuver
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tachibana
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Okayama
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shioiri
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsunetoshi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsuda
authors.forename: N E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Mueller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D008875:Middle Aged; D012725:Sexual Behavior
chemical_list: D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies