Epidemiological characteristics among patients with syphilis in Thailand

Abstract

This cross-sectional study aimed to assess morbidity rates of syphilis in Thai population and pregnant women and to identify the factors associated with syphilis in pregnant women. The data was extracted from Health Data Center (HDC). All Thai people diagnosed with syphilis from 1^st January to 31^st December 2020 and pregnant women giving birth during the same period of time were included into the study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The binary logistic regression was performed to identify the factors associated with syphilis in pregnant women. The results indicated that in 2020 there were 30,302 syphilis cases among Thai populations (morbidity rate 45.2 per 100,000 population). Male to female ratio was 1:0.8. The morbidity was highest among those aged 15-24 years old (144.7 per 100,000 population). Of all the syphilis cases identified, 43.6% were casual laborers or factory workers and 19.1% had co-infection with HIV. There were 3,039 cases of syphilis in pregnant women (prevalence rate 0.56%) with the median age of 21.2 years old. The factors associated with syphilis among pregnant women were teenage pregnancy (AOR 3.64, 95%CI 3.24-4.10), being students (AOR 1.78, 95%CI 1.48-2.14), being casual laborers or factory workers (AOR 2.08, 95%CI 1.76-2.44), and HIV infection (AOR 14.34, 95%CI 11.05-18.60). This research suggests that health literacy for safe sex should be strengthened especially among students and casual laborers or factory workers. Early and continuous treatment of syphilis for patients co-infected with HIV must be emphasized.