Dynamics of Epidemiological Manifestations of HIV Infection in the Gender Aspect (on the Example of the Republic of Tatarstan)

Abstract

Relevance. The development of the HIV epidemic in different parts of the word is accompanied by the dynamics of its manifestations, including a change in the role in epidemics of various routes of transmission, “risky groups” and shifts in the gender structure of morbidity. The study of the epidemic process in dynamics, including the gender indicators of the epidemic, is important for forecasting the epidemic and modernizing prevention strategies. The aim of the study is to assess the gender characteristics of the manifestations of the epidemic process of HIV infection in the Republic of Tatarstan. Materials and methods. A retrospective analysis of the incidence of HIV-infection among women and men in the Republic of Tatarstan (Russia) for the period of 1996–2018 was carried out. We used information from database of AIDS-centre of Tatarstan Republic. Incidence of HIV in association with age, ways of transmission, social status was calculated for men and women separately. We analyzed the role of main transmission routes in different age groups over the entire period of the epidemic (1987–2018). The data is processed in Microsoft Office Excel 2010. Results. Incidence rate of HIV per year in men is higher then in women from 1999 (p < 0,05). In the structure of the adult population's incidence of HIV infection, the proportion of women increased by 2.4 times: from 14.8 ± 0.7% in 2001 to 35.6 ± 1.3% in 2018 (p < 0.001). During the entire follow - up period of 1996-2018, the most common route of getting infection for men was intravenous (68%); most of women (73,3%) got HIV via sexual rout including women, living in areas with the highest prevalence of drug addiction. The proportion of sexual route of HIV-transmission increased from 5.6 ± 0.5% in 2001 to 52.3 ± 1.7% in 2018 for men, and from 23.7 ± 2.2% in 2001 to 84.6 ± 1.7% in 2018 for women (p < 0.001). Dynamic of HIV-epidemic is presented by involvement of older age groups. With age, the proportion of people who were infected via sexual rout increases in both women and men groups. Conclusion. The dynamics of the epidemiological manifestations of HIV infection in the Republic of Tatarstan for the period 1996–2018 has many similarities among women and men: they have unidirectional changes, and the incidence rates decreases for people under 30 years. The incidence rates for men are higher than those for women, however, the development of the epidemic is accompanied by an increase in the proportion of women, for whom, unlike men, regardless of the age and prevalence of drug addiction in the territory the live, the sexual route of infection is predominant.