文章基本信息

标题：Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Seroprevalence of 6 Infectious Diseases in the United States: Data From NHANES III, 1988–1994
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作者：Geraldine M. McQuillan ; Deanna Kruszon-Moran ; Benny J. Kottiri 等
期刊名称：American journal of public health
印刷版ISSN：0090-0036
出版年度：2004
卷号：94
期号：11
页码：1952-1958
语种：English
出版社：American Public Health Association
摘要：Objectives. We examined racial/ethnic differences in the seroprevalence of selected infectious agents in analyses stratified according to risk categories to identify patterns and to determine whether demographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral characteristics explain these differences. Methods. We analyzed data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, comparing differences among groups in regard to the prevalence of infection with hepatitis A, B, and C viruses, Toxoplasma gondii, Helicobacter pylori, and herpes simplex virus type 2. Results. Racial/ethnic differences were greater among those in the low-risk category. In the case of most infectious agents, odds associated with race/ethnicity were almost 2 times greater in that category than in the high-risk category. Conclusions. Stratification and adjustment for socioeconomic factors reduced or eliminated racial/ethnic differences in the prevalence of infection in the high-risk but not the low-risk group, wherein race/ethnicity remained significant and might have been a surrogate for unmeasured risk factors. Racial/ethnic differences in chronic disease morbidity and mortality are well documented. 1, 2 Most studies provide evidence that socioeconomic factors play a major role in explaining racial differences in health status. 3 Infectious diseases are also an important cause of mortality and morbidity, and they account for approximately 10% of the excess all-cause mortality observed among Blacks relative to Whites. 4, 5 Several studies, including previous reports involving use of data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), 6– 11 have shown significant racial/ethnic differences in the prevalence of infectious diseases in the US population. The objectives of this study were to examine racial/ethnic differences in the seroprevalence of 6 infectious diseases and to assess the extent to which demographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral characteristics explain these differences. Data collected during NHANES III, a nationally representative survey of the US population, were analyzed to assess differences in seroprevalence of 3 enteric pathogens, hepatitis A virus (HAV), Toxoplasma gondii , and Helicobacter pylori , and 3 blood-borne/sexually transmissible diseases, hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). Serologic measurements of the prevalence of these infectious agents were included in the survey because either the agents are not reportable (in the case of T gondii, H pylori , and HSV-2) or only clinical cases are reportable (in the case of the hepatitis viruses) and the majority of infections are asymptomatic. Thus, there was a need for population-based serologic studies designed to estimate the extent of the infection burden and to develop and evaluate prevention efforts.