It Takes At Least Two: Male Partner Factors, Racial/Ethnic Disparity, and Chlamydia trachomatis Among Pregnant Women

Abstract

Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection in the United States, disproportionately infects women and people of color. This study aimed to identify risk factors for racial and ethnic disparities for CT infection, re-infection, and persistent infection among pregnant women. We present a secondary analysis of births from a retrospective cohort study in Syracuse, NY from January 2000 through March 2002. African American women [OR 3.35 CI (2.29, 4.92)], Latin American women [OR 4.35 CI (2.52, 7.48)], unmarried women [OR 7.57 CI (4.38, 13.10)], and teen mothers [OR 3.87 CI (2.91, 5.16)] demonstrated statistically significant increased risk for infection. In multivariate analyses that included male partner variables, father's race/ethnicity but not the mother's race/ethnicity remained statistically associated with CT. Despite near universal rates of screening pregnant women, challenges to CT control remain and reflect barriers to testing and treatment of male partners.

African American Fathers: Disproportionate Incarceration and the Meaning of Involvement

“…Study 3: All singleton births delivered at largest birth hospital in Syracuse, 2000 to the first quarter of 2002. This analysis (Weisz et al, 2011) assembled a database, totaling 2,909 births, from chart reviews of prenatal and hospital charts, and was linked with secondary data from the Perinatal Data System. The births represented two thirds of all Syracuse births during this time including the majority of low-income and African American births.…”

“…Higher unemployment meant a lack of health insurance, necessitating that treatment for sexually transmitted infections be obtained at the county free clinic. The free clinic was open only 11 hours per week (Lane et al, 2004;Weisz et al, 2011), which meant infected individuals had to wait longer before receiving treatment, thus potentially infecting others. Although Chlamydia infection is driven to a large extent by individual behavior, behavior is at least in part determined by structural factors, including the skewed sex ratio and limited clinic hours.…”