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‘<i>Kusvika taparadzaniswa nerufu</i>' (Until death do us part)


N Spark-du Preez1
B Zaba
C Nyamukapa
M Mlilo
S Gregson

Abstract

A cross-sectional study of 7 667 non-virgins between 15 and 54 years of age was carried out to assess the protective effect of marriage against HIV acquisition in a rural population in Zimbabwe, whilst taking into account gender-differentials in risk factors for seroconversion. Persons in stable first marriages and long-term consensual cohabiting unions had higher odds of HIV infection than never-married people but a lower risk than those who had been divorced or widowed, even after adjusting for known confounders and significant risk factors for infection. Partner-related risk factors appear to play a more pivotal role in determining HIV prevalence in females than for males, for whom personal sexual behaviour risk factors are more dominant.



Keywords: HIV, marital status, rural, Zimbabwe



African Journal of AIDS Research 2004, 3(1): 81–91

Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 1608-5906
print ISSN: 1727-9445