The risk of sexually transmitted diseases in human immunodeficiency virus-infected parturients

We assessed the prevalence of and defined the relationship between other sexually transmitted diseases and human immunodeficiency virus infection.

We performed a case-control study among 121 human immunodeficiency virus-infected and 222 randomly selected seronegative parturient women. These women were identified from a prenatal population undergoing routine voluntary antibody screening in a large urban hospital in the southeastern United States.

During the 24-month study period, 16,868 women consented to human immunodeficiency virus antibody screening; 121 (7.2/1000) were infected with human immunodeficiency virus. Cases were significantly more likely than controls to be infected with at least one sexually transmitted disease during pregnancy (48% vs 21%; odds ratio 3.4, 95% confidence interval 2.1 to 5.7). The prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis and hepatitis B infection did not differ significantly among the groups. Cases were significantly more likely than controls to be infected with Treponema pallidum (29% vs 4%; odds ratio 9.6, 95% confidence interval 4.2 to 22.4). This relationship persisted after we controlled for confounding risk factors (odds ratio 9.2, 95% confidence interval 2.1 to 13.3). In addition, cases were significantly more likely than controls to be infected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae (17.2% vs 4%; odds ratio 5.2, 95% confidence interval 2.1 to 13.3). This relationship also persisted after we controlled for confounders (odds ratio 3.7, 95% confidence interval 1.4 to 10.0).

Human immunodeficiency virus-infected parturient women in our center are at substantial risk of having other sexually transmitted diseases.