title: Gender Differences in Risk Factors for Delayed Diagnosis of HIV/AIDS in a Midsized City of Brazil.
abstract: Patients treated in the specialized service at a midsized city in Brazil participated in a cross-sectional study that aimed to identify the risk factors for delayed diagnosis of HIV/AIDS. Through interviews and review of medical records, information was collected on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and diagnoses. The study included 403 patients, of whom 216 (53.6%) were male and 311 (77.1%) had ≤8 years of education. According to the criteria adopted in this study, 162 (40.2%) of the participants had a late diagnosis of AIDS. Only 19 (4.7%) were diagnosed by routine examinations and 45 (11.2%) presented with AIDS-defining disease at the time of diagnosis. After adjustments, the results showed that having more education was protective against a late diagnosis for women. With the advance of the AIDS epidemic to small town and rural Brazil, vulnerable populations now include low-income and less educated women, most of whom have had monogamous relationships throughout their lives.
authors.affiliation: Specialized Assistance Service Municipal DST/AIDS, Divinópolis, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rosangela Franco Guedes
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Federal University of São João del-Rei, São João Del Rei, Brazil.
authors.forename: Severino Correia do Prado
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Neto
authors.affiliation: Federal University of São João del-Rei, São João Del Rei, Brazil.
authors.forename: Natalia Colares
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Santana
authors.affiliation: Federal University of São João del-Rei, São João Del Rei, Brazil.
authors.forename: Denise Alves
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.affiliation: Federal University of São João del-Rei, São João Del Rei, Brazil claudia.dlorenzo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Claudia Di Lorenzo
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Oliveira
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D057210:Delayed Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: HIV/AIDS; epidemiology; midsized cities