Prevalence and risk factors of syphilis and human immunodeficiency virus co-infection at a university hospital in Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: The incidence of syphilis has increased since the 1970s. Methods: This was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study with a non-probabilistic sample. Results: Of 973 patients with human immunodeficiency virus, 179 (18.4%) tested positive for both human immunodeficiency virus and syphilis, 84.8% were men, 50.9% were aged between 36 and 50 years, 47.8% with syphilis were diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus for 10–20 years, and 40.3% received antiretroviral therapy for 10–20 years. Conclusions: The prevalence of syphilis in patients with human immunodeficiency virus is higher than expected, making it urgent to adopt efficient public health measures.