Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (Mar 2016)

Gender Differences in Risk Factors for Delayed Diagnosis of HIV/AIDS in a Midsized City of Brazil

  • Rosangela Franco Guedes Ferreira MD MS,
  • Severino Correia do Prado Neto MD,
  • Natalia Colares Santana MD,
  • Denise Alves Guimarães PhD,
  • Claudia Di Lorenzo Oliveira MD, PhD

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/2325957414553845
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15

Abstract

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Patients treated in the specialized service at a midsized city in Brazil participated in a cross-sectional study that aimed to identify the risk factors for delayed diagnosis of HIV/AIDS. Through interviews and review of medical records, information was collected on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and diagnoses. The study included 403 patients, of whom 216 (53.6%) were male and 311 (77.1%) had ≤8 years of education. According to the criteria adopted in this study, 162 (40.2%) of the participants had a late diagnosis of AIDS. Only 19 (4.7%) were diagnosed by routine examinations and 45 (11.2%) presented with AIDS-defining disease at the time of diagnosis. After adjustments, the results showed that having more education was protective against a late diagnosis for women. With the advance of the AIDS epidemic to small town and rural Brazil, vulnerable populations now include low-income and less educated women, most of whom have had monogamous relationships throughout their lives.