02387nas a2200421   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001500055653001000070653002500080653001100105653001900116653001000135653001000145653001100155653001000166653001200176653000900188653001500197653001900212653001700231653001600248653002000264100001200284700001700296700001900313700001400332700001700346700001500363700001800378700001200396245012300408856004100531300001100572490000700583520136100590022001401951       1994                            d  c1994 Dec10aAdolescent10aAdult10aCase-Control Studies10aFemale10aHIV Infections10aHIV-110aHIV-210aHumans10aIndia10aleprosy10aMale10aOdds Ratio10aPilot Projects10aRisk Factors10aRisk-Taking10aSexual Behavior1 aSekar B1 aJayasheela M1 aChattopadhya D1 aAnandan D1 aRathinavel L1 aVasanthi B1 aSubramanian M1 aRao P S00aPrevalence of HIV infection and high-risk characteristics among leprosy patients of south India; a case-control study.  uhttp://ila.ilsl.br/pdfs/v62n4a04.pdf  a527-310 v623 a<p>With the observation of the occurrence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among leprosy patients in our pilot study carried out in Tamil Nadu, South India, a case-control study was planned to explore whether HIV infection is a risk factor for leprosy and to understand the characteristics of HIV infection and high-risk behaviors among leprosy patients. We screened 556 patients and 1004 nonleprosy controls (matching 502 cases for age, sex and area of residence) for HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies. They also were interviewed for personal information on history of blood transfusion, intravenous drug abuse, high-risk sexual behavior, and sexually transmitted diseases. Of the 1019 total cases screened (of both pilot and extended studies), 5 were found to be position for HIV antibodies (HIV-1 = 4, HIV-2 = 1); of the 1019 nonleprosy controls, 6 were positive for HIV-1 antibodies. An analysis by odds ratio revealed no association between leprosy and HIV infection (OR = 0.824, 95% CI = 0.201-3.593). A strong association was found only between high-risk behavior and HIV infection (OR = 5.186, 95% CI = 1.717-15.667). However, unmarried, unmarried after 30 years of age, exposure to spouses of the leprosy patients, and a history of surgery were all observed to be significantly more common among leprosy patients than the controls.</p>  a0148-916X