Prevalence and factors associated with non-adherence to therapy among partners of pregnant women with syphilis in a city of northeastern Brazil

Table 1 Descriptive analysis of data regarding pregnant women with syphilis (n = 46)

Variable	n	%
Pregnant women
Age (yr)
25 or older	17	36.96
18 to 24	29	63.04
Marital status
With a mate	21	45.65
Without a mate	25	54.35
Ethnicity
White	10	21.74
Not white	36	78.26
Schooling level
8 yr or more	20	43.48
Less than 8 yr	26	56.52
Monthly income
Higher than half a MW	30	65.22
Less than half a MW	16	34.78
Contraceptive use
No	23	50.00
Yes	23	50.00
Number of syphilis tests
Up to 2 tests	16	34.78
3 or more tests	30	65.22
Beginning of the prenatal care
Until the 3rd month of gestation	32	71.11
After the 3rd month of gestation	13	28.26
Number of prenatal consultations
At least 6 consultations	27	58.70
Less than 6 consultations	19	41.30

MW: Mean minimum wage for the years 2017 and 2018, equivalent to 945.50 Brazil Reals.

Table 2 Descriptive analysis of data regarding partners of pregnant women with syphilis (n = 46)

Variable	n	%
Partners
Age (yr)
18 to 24	21	45.65
25 or older	25	54.35
Ethnicity
White	14	30.43
Not White	32	69.57
Schooling level
8 yr or more	16	37.21
Less than 8 yr	27	62.79
Monthly income
More than half a MW	26	56.52
Up to half a MW	20	43.48
Occupation
Commerce, industry, or freelance	34	73.91
Not working	12	26.09
Formal work
Yes	15	32.61
No	31	67.39
Last attendance to a medical consultation
Less than 1 yr ago	18	41.86
More than 1 yr ago	25	58.14
Health status
Regular	13	28.26
Good/Very good	33	71.74
Appropriate treatment
Yes	12	26.09
No	34	73.91
Reasons for absent treatment
Negative syphilis tests	13	38.23
The partner was communicated but refused treatment or did not attend the primary care unit	09	26.47
The partner was not communicated	06	17.65
Others	06	17.65

Three data were ignored by the responding pregnant women. MW: Mean minimum wage for the years 2017 and 2018 in Brazil, equivalent to 945.50 Brazil Reals.

Table 3 Final logistic regression model according to groups of variables selected for absence of treatment among partners

Variable	OR (95%CI)	P value
Pregnant women
Ethnicity other than white	13.88 (1.38-14.1)	0.02
Partners
Less than 8 yr of schooling	21.00 (2.70-177.47)	0.00
Monthly income of less than a half MW	12.23 (1.39-107.44)	0.02

MW: Mean minimum wage for the years 2017 and 2018 in Brazil, equivalent to 945.50 Brazil Reals. OR: Odds ratio.

Table 4 Univariate analysis of characteristics related to pregnant women with syphilis and absence of treatment of their partners (n = 46)

Variable	OR (95%CI)	χ2	P value
Pregnant Women
Age (yr)
25 or older	1
18 to 24	3.36 (0.85-13.14)	3.18	0.07
Marital status
With a mate	1
Without a mate	5.50 (1.24-24.25)	5.63	0.02
Ethnicity
White	1
Not white	4.14 (0.9-18.36)	3.78	0.06
Schooling level
8 yr or more	1
Less than 8 yr	6.27 (1.41-27.86)	6.56	0.01
Monthly income
More than half a MW	1
Up to half a MW	3.50 (0.66-18.49)	2.34	0.11
Contraceptive use
No	1
Yes	1.57 (0.41-5.95)	0.45	0.36
Spontaneous abortion
No	1
Yes	2.72 ( 0.51-14.53)	1.45	0.20
Beginning of the prenatal care
Until the 3rd month of gestation	1
After the 3rd month of gestation	1.30 ( 0.29-5.86)	0.12	0.52
Number of prenatal consultations
At least 6 consultations	1
Less than 6 consultations	1.77 ( 0.45-6.91)	0.69	0.31
Number of syphilis tests
At least 3 tests	1
Up to 2 tests	8.68 (1.00-75.01)	5.00	0.02

Oral and non-oral contraceptives. MW: Mean minimum wage for the years 2017 and 2018 in Brazil, equivalent to 945.50 Brazil Reals. OR: Odds ratio.

Table 5 Univariate analysis of characteristics related to partners of pregnant women with syphilis and absence of treatment among them (n = 46)

Variable	OR (95%CI)	χ2	P value
Partners
Age (yr)
25 or older	1
18 to 24	2.00 (0.50-7.91)	0.99	0.25
Ethnicity
White	1
Not white	1.20 (0.29-4.9)	0.06	0.53
Schooling
8 or more years	1
Less than 8 years	10.28 (2.17-48.67)	10.17	0.00a
Monthly income
More than half a MW	1
Up to half a MW	13.93(1.61-120.35)	8.16	0.00a
Occupation
Commerce, industry, or freelance	1
Not working	5.26 (0.60-46.05)	2.65	0.10
Formal work
Yes	1
No	2.77 (0.71-10.86)	2.23	0.12
Last attendance to a medical consultation
Less than 1 yr ago	1
More than 1 yr ago	2.54 ( 0.65-9.94)	1.85	0.15
Health status
Regular	1
Good/Very good	1.38 (0.33-5.75)	0.20	0.45

^aStatistically significant association (P < 0.05). Three data were ignored by the responding pregnant women. MW: Mean minimum wage for the years 2017 and 2018 in Brazil, equivalent to 945.50 Brazil Reals. OR: Odds ratio.