Published online Jun 29, 2022. doi: 10.5317/wjog.v11.i3.20
Peer-review started: January 17, 2022
First decision: March 16, 2022
Revised: March 30, 2022
Accepted: June 3, 2022
Article in press: June 3, 2022
Published online: June 29, 2022
Processing time: 162 Days and 11 Hours
It is not new that syphilis is a major health concern worldwide. The disease can be transmitted through multiple routes, and the contagion mostly occurs through sexual contact and vertical transmission, from the mother to the fetus. Although it is considered an easily diagnosed and treated disease, syphilis is still an important health issue worldwide.
Worryingly, the congenital form of the Treponema pallidum infection is still a big concern, mainly in underdeveloped countries, although it is an avoidable condition. The prevention is mainly based on the proper diagnosis of the disease during pregnancy and the subsequent treatment of the pregnant women and their partners. In this sense, the adherence of partners to the treatment has to be highlighted as a key step in the prevention of such a devastating disease.
To evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with the therapeutic adhesion among partners of pregnant women with syphilis in a county of northeastern Brazil.
This is a descriptive, analytic, quantitative, cross-sectional study that was carried out through interviews with 46 pregnant women diagnosed with syphilis between 2017 and 2018 as well as with their partners. The interviews aimed at collecting data regarding sociodemographic characteristics, obstetric variables and information about syphilis, and partners’ related variables.
Our results showed that 73.91% of the partners did not undergo appropriate treatments, and obtaining negative results in syphilis tests was the main reason for the absence of therapies. The following factors were significantly associated with the lack of treatment among partners: Being a partner that is not the current mate of the pregnant woman, having a level of schooling inferior to 8 years (odds ratio [OR] = 10.28), and the pregnant woman undergoing up to two syphilis tests during the prenatal care (OR = 8.6). The study found a higher odds of absent treatment among partners if the pregnant woman is not white (OR = 13.88) or if the partner has less than 8 years of schooling (OR = 21.00) or has a monthly income of less than half the minimum wage (OR = 13.93).
The findings of this study show a high prevalence of partners that are not adequately treated for syphilis, a phenomenon that is strongly associated with socioeconomic factors.
We expect that this study may aid public health managers in the identification of factors associated with the non-adhesion to syphilis treatment by pregnant women's partners, which can help in the elaboration of effective health campaigns aiming at reducing the prevalence of the disease. Moreover, further research should be performed in order to better understand the persistence of congenital syphilis, mainly in underdeveloped countries.