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Published on: September 3, 2012
Type-specific seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus type 2 and associated risk factors in middle-aged women from 6
Padmaja Patnaik1, Rolando Herrero, R Ashley Morrow
1Department of Epidemiology, CB# 7435, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7435, USA.
Goal:
To determine type-specific seroprevalence of herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 and HSV-2) and HSV-2 risk factors.
Study Design:
Six-hundred fifty eight middle-aged control women (hospital-based in 4 of 6 countries) from a multicenter cervical cancer case-control study participated from 1985 to 1997. Type-specific serum IgG antibodies against HSV-1 and HSV-2 were detected with Western Blot.
Results:
HSV-1 seroprevalence was 89% to 100% everywhere except Thailand (51%). HSV-2 seroprevalence ranged from 9% (Spain) to 57% (Colombia), and was independently associated with having >or=2 lifetime sexual partners overall [Odds ratio (OR), 2.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.5-3.1], and in Morocco (OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.2-6.1) and Thailand (OR, 4.4; 95% CI, 1.3-15.4), and with being unmarried in Colombia, Peru, Spain, but not significantly in Mali. Women whose male partner's sexual debut was
Conclusions:
HSV-2 seroprevalence in middle-aged women varied over 4-fold and was associated with riskier sexual behaviors in women and their male partners.
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