Abstract
BackgroundIf national peak Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevalence is positively associated with the prevalence of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) from before or early on in the HIV epidemics this would suggest common underlying drivers.MethodsPearson’s correlations were calculated between the prevalence of seven STIs at a country-level: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis, syphilis, bacterial vaginosis, herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) and HIV.ResultsThe prevalence of all the STIs was highest in the sub-Saharan African region excluding chlamydia. The prevalence of all seven STIs were positively correlated excluding chlamydia. The correlations were strongest for HIV-HSV-2 (r = 0.85, P < 0.0001) and HSV-2-trichomoniasis (r = 0.82, P < 0.0001).ConclusionOur results of a generally positive association between the prevalences of a range of STIs suggests that higher prevalences were driven by common underlying determinants. We review different types of evidence which suggest that differential sexual connectivity is a plausible common determinant.
Highlights
If national peak Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevalence is positively associated with the prevalence of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) from before or early on in the HIV epidemics this would suggest common underlying drivers
Others have argued that a range of other factors such as differences in the prevalence of circumcision, herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) and other STIs are responsible [7,8,9,10]
We explore this issue from a novel angle by testing if there is an association between national peak HIV prevalence and the prevalence of other STIs from before or early on in the HIV epidemics
Summary
If national peak Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevalence is positively associated with the prevalence of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) from before or early on in the HIV epidemics this would suggest common underlying drivers. 20 countries have had generalized HIV epidemics (peak HIV prevalence greater than 5%) [1]. In these countries HIV prevalence typically increased from under 1% to over 10% in 10 years [2, 3]. Others have argued that a range of other factors such as differences in the prevalence of circumcision, herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) and other (sexually transmitted infections) STIs are responsible [7,8,9,10]
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