Risk factors for genital ulcerations in Kenyan sex workers. the role of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection
Kaul, R.; Kimani, J.; Nagelkerke, N.J.; Plummer, F.A.; Bwayo, J.J.; Brunham, R.C.; Ngugi, E.N.; Ronald, A.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases 24(7): 387-392
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0148-5717 PMID: 9263358 DOI: 10.1097/00007435-199708000-00001Document Number: 268652
Both cross-sectional and prospective studies in Africa have revealed an association between genital ulcer disease (GUD) and HIV-1; it is unclear, however, which of these infections facilitates the other. The epidemiology of GUD was investigated in a prospective cohort study of 302 female sex workers from a slum area in Nairobi, Kenya. At study intake in 1985, 157 women (52%) were HIV-1 seropositive. After a mean follow-up duration of 27.2 months, 36 (25%) initially HIV-negative women seroconverted. 189 women (62.5%) had at least 1 incident ulcer in the follow-up period and a total of 541 new cases were diagnosed. GUD incidence was significantly higher in HIV-positive women (82%) than initially seronegative women (48%). The mean number of new genital ulcerations recorded during the follow-up period was 1.8 (2.7 in initially seropositive women and 1.0 in initially seronegative women). The only significant risk factors for GUD incidence in the regression analyses were HIV-1 seropositivity (odds ratio (OR), 3.42), a CD4 count under 200/ml (OR, 1.94), and oral contraceptive use (OR, 1.35). The significant increase in GUD incidence observed relatively soon after primary HIV infection among the 36 seroconverters strongly suggests that HIV-1 itself plays a causal role in the etiology of genital ulcers. Moreover, the finding that the duration of prostitution was negatively associated with the incidence of ulcers in HIV-negative but not HIV-positive women implies that HIV-1 infection may attenuate the acquisition or retention of effective immune responses against the etiologic agents of GUD.