Prevalência e fatores associados à sífilis em populações vulneráveis em tempos de pandemia Covid-19

• Autor(a) principal: Silva Filho, Gabriel Francisco da
• Data de Publicação: 2024
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFG
• dARK ID: ark:/38995/001300000cjk1
• Texto Completo: http://repositorio.bc.ufg.br/tede/handle/tede/13520
• topic: Sífilis; Prevalência; Populações vulneráveis; Fatores de risco; Syphilis; Prevalence; Vulnerable populations; Risk factors; CIENCIAS DA SAUDE::ENFERMAGEM

During the COVID-19 pandemic, programs and services for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were interrupted or slowed down to redirect material and human resources to control the health crisis, thus compromising the global strategy to eliminate syphilis as a public health problem. Our study addressed this gap during the pandemic and tracked syphilis in vulnerable populations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors associated with syphilis in socially and economically vulnerable population groups in Goiânia, Goiás. The studied population consisted of 635 individuals living in Goiânia, Goiás: LGBTQIAP+ people, immigrants and refugees, homeless people, and recyclable waste collectors. All participants were interviewed about sociodemographic data and risk behaviors for STIs. Subsequently, blood samples were collected and tested for anti-T. pallidum using a rapid test (RT), and positive samples were subjected to the VDRL test, using commercial kits. Syphilis was considered for those who tested positive in the RT and active syphilis for those with VDRL titers ≥ 1/8. Non-parametric tests were used for data analysis, as appropriate. Poisson regression analysis was used to identify variables associated with syphilis. The analysis was conducted by subgroups, specifying the differences existing in each population. P-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Most individuals were male (53.2%), single (58.8%), and black or brown (75.9%). The median age, years of schooling, and monthly income were 33 years, 10 years of study, and R$ 1,200.00, respectively. The overall prevalence of syphilis was 17%, ranging from 7.6% in immigrants/refugees to 36.7% in LGBTQIA+ people. The prevalence of active syphilis was 5%, ranging from 1.8% in recyclable waste collectors to 15.2% in LGBTQIA+ people. The analysis of factors associated with syphilis revealed a higher prevalence of STIs in all studied subgroups. For recyclable waste collectors, older age, female gender, and illicit drug use were variables associated with syphilis, while for homeless people, education was a protective factor and transactional sex was a predictor of syphilis. The results of this study confirm the high prevalence of syphilis in socioeconomically vulnerable populations. However, the specificities of each subgroup should be considered in the planning and implementation of STI prevention strategies.