Scientific Reports (Jul 2023)

Incidence, risk factors, and clinical findings of syphilis among men living with HIV in Croatia during the COVID-19 pandemic

  • Josip Begovac,
  • Vanja Romih Pintar,
  • Nina Vrsaljko,
  • Loris Močibob,
  • Nikolina Bogdanić,
  • Šime Zekan,
  • Oktavija Đaković Rode

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-38807-1
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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Abstract We conducted a nationwide longitudinal observational study to estimate the incidence of syphilis in a cohort of male persons living with HIV (MLWH) in Croatia in the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 years. Data were reviewed and extracted from the clinical database. We analyzed 1187 MLWH (≥ 18 years) in care in Croatia from 2018 to 2021 and used Poisson regression to calculate rates. We observed a 91.4% increase in incidence between 2019 and 2020; the overall rate was 6.0/100 person-years, and the annual rate ranged from 3.3/100 person-years in 2018 to 9.3/100 person-years in 2021. We found higher rates in men who have sex with men, MLWH with a baseline history of syphilis, MLWH with a more recent HIV diagnosis, and a lower rate in those who had clinical AIDS. The rate of syphilis serological testing was 3.5% lower in 2020 compared to 2019. Recurrent syphilis was more likely asymptomatic compared to the first episodes. In conclusion, during the COVID-19 epidemic years, there was a huge increase in syphilis. Results highlight the need for enhanced and novel prevention interventions.