title: [Sociodemographic, epidemiological and behavioral profile of women infected with HTLV-1 in Salvador, Bahia, an endemic area for HTLV].
abstract: The objective was to describe the sociodemographic, epidemiological and behavioral characteristics of women infected with HTLV-1 (64) and uninfected women (66) in Salvador, Bahia. The serological diagnosis was obtained via Elisa, Western Blot and Immunofluorescence. Epidemiological and sociodemographic data were collected using a standardized questionnaire. The chi-squared or Fisher test was used for categorical data and ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis (3 groups) and the T-test or Mann-Whitney (2 groups) were used for continuous data. Associated variables were adjusted using logistic regression. More than half (57.8%) of the seropositive women were asymptomatic. The symptomatic women (with HAM/TSP) had fewer years of education. Comparison between seronegative and seropositive women showed that blood transfusion, anal sex practices, first sexual intercourse before the age of 18 years and three or more sexual partners over women's lifetime were risk factors for HTLV-1 infection. The prevention of both sexual transmission and vertical transmission (breastfeeding) should be reinforced. Prenatal screening is of paramount importance.
authors.affiliation: Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública, Fundação Bahiana para o Desenvolvimento das Ciências, Salvador, BA, Brasil.
authors.forename: Ivanoska
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Moxoto
authors.forename: Ney
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Boa-Sorte
authors.forename: Ceuci
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.forename: Augusto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mota
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dumas
authors.forename: Inês
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dourado
authors.forename: Bernardo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Galvão-Castro
mesh_terms: D015153:Blotting, Western; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors