The prevalence of HIV-antibody in a gold mining camp in the Amazon Region as a guide to the date of entry of AIDS into Brazil: the future importance of such communities as "distribution centres"
“…Three studies examined this link in other African countries (Desmond et al 2005; Kis 2007; Lightfoot, Maree & Ananias 2009), and outside of Africa there have been a further three studies (Faas, Rodriguez-Acosta & Echeverria de Perez 1999; Linhares & Mello 1989; Zhang et al 2007). However, literature searches did not reveal any study which linked those two issues (mining and HIV) together with measures of the quality of life of miners or members of their communities.…”
ObjectiveTo analyse the health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in two groups of diamond miners (HIV negative and positive) in South Africa using three instruments. Two hypotheses were to be tested. One, was that the HR-QOL of HIV positive miners would be lower than that of HIV negative miners; and two, the selected instruments would behave consistently and thus all would confirm hypothesis one.MethodsIn our study, workers were recruited during a voluntary counselling and testing programme for HIV. HR-QOL were estimated using the Assessment of Quality of Life (AQOL) Mark 2, EQ-5D (EuroQOL), and Health Utilities Index 3 (HUI3) instruments. The data were analysed for utility values and for correlations between variables of interest (in particular HIV status). Goodness of fit, Pearson's r coefficient and t-tests were the statistical tests applied to the data.ResultsJust over 1100 respondents were included in the analysis. HIV positive workers scored significantly lower on quality of life on the HUI3 as compared to HIV negative workers but this relationship did not (surprisingly) hold for the AQOL or EQ-5D. There was a significant positive correlation between all three instruments.ConclusionThere was inconsistency among the instruments in measuring quality of life differences according to HIV status. The HUI3 confirmed the a priori expectation that the HR-QOL of HIV positive miners would be lower than HIV negative miners. There was no statistical difference for the AQOL and a confounding result was found for the EQ5D.
“…Three studies examined this link in other African countries (Desmond et al 2005; Kis 2007; Lightfoot, Maree & Ananias 2009), and outside of Africa there have been a further three studies (Faas, Rodriguez-Acosta & Echeverria de Perez 1999; Linhares & Mello 1989; Zhang et al 2007). However, literature searches did not reveal any study which linked those two issues (mining and HIV) together with measures of the quality of life of miners or members of their communities.…”
ObjectiveTo analyse the health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in two groups of diamond miners (HIV negative and positive) in South Africa using three instruments. Two hypotheses were to be tested. One, was that the HR-QOL of HIV positive miners would be lower than that of HIV negative miners; and two, the selected instruments would behave consistently and thus all would confirm hypothesis one.MethodsIn our study, workers were recruited during a voluntary counselling and testing programme for HIV. HR-QOL were estimated using the Assessment of Quality of Life (AQOL) Mark 2, EQ-5D (EuroQOL), and Health Utilities Index 3 (HUI3) instruments. The data were analysed for utility values and for correlations between variables of interest (in particular HIV status). Goodness of fit, Pearson's r coefficient and t-tests were the statistical tests applied to the data.ResultsJust over 1100 respondents were included in the analysis. HIV positive workers scored significantly lower on quality of life on the HUI3 as compared to HIV negative workers but this relationship did not (surprisingly) hold for the AQOL or EQ-5D. There was a significant positive correlation between all three instruments.ConclusionThere was inconsistency among the instruments in measuring quality of life differences according to HIV status. The HUI3 confirmed the a priori expectation that the HR-QOL of HIV positive miners would be lower than HIV negative miners. There was no statistical difference for the AQOL and a confounding result was found for the EQ5D.
“…There was no evidence of HIV-1 infection, showing that spread of the virus probably did not precede the first cases recorded in Brazil [ 28 ]. Clinical and epidemiological information on viral infection were generated by other laboratories [ 29 ] located in the Brazilian Amazon and it became evident that the epicenter of the epidemic had been the southeast region and the virus rapidly spread to all other regions, including the Amazon region [ 30 ].…”
Section: The Impact Of Hiv-1 In the Brazilian Amazon: From Description To Current Timesmentioning
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) represent a worldwide public health problem and, although many of them are curable, they continue to be neglected, especially in areas with a low human development index, such as in the northern region of Brazil. This review describes the results of 30 years of studies at the Virus Laboratory at the Federal University of Pará, including the prevalence and molecular epidemiology of HIV-1, HTLV-1/2, HPV, HBV, Treponema pallidum and Chlamydia trachomatis among urban and non-urban populations, and also in vulnerable groups in the Brazilian Amazon. Control strategies and challenges in preventing STIs are discussed considering this immense geographic region, where essential health services are unable to reach the entire population, especially the most vulnerable, such as female sex workers, people who use illicit drugs, remnants of quilombolos and indigenous communities.
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