Late marriage and the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa.

Full Abstract

The causes of large variation in the sizes of HIV epidemics among countries in sub-Saharan Africa are not well understood. Here we assess the potential roles of late age at marriage and a long period of premarital sexual activity as population risk factors, using ecological data from 33 sub-Saharan African countries and with individual-level data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) in Kenya and Ghana in 2003. The ecological analysis finds a significant positive correlation between HIV prevalence and median age at first marriage, and between HIV prevalence and interval between first sexual intercourse and first marriage. The individual-level analysis shows that HIV infection per year of exposure is higher before than after first marriage. These findings support the hypothesis of a link between a high average age at marriage and a long period of premarital intercourse during which partner changes are relatively common and facilitate the spread of HIV.

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Author information

Author/s: Bongaarts, John (J);

Affiliation: Population Council, New York, NY 10017, USA. jbongaarts(-atsign-)popcouncil.org

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Population studies (Popul Stud (Camb)), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Mar; vol 61 (issue 1) : pp 73-83

Dates: Created 2007/03/16; Completed 2007/05/11;

PMID: 17365874, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adult
Africa South of the Sahara - epidemiology
Age Factors
Circumcision, Male - statistics & numerical data
Disease Outbreaks - statistics & numerical data
Female

Female
HIV Infections - epidemiology
Humans
Male
Marriage - statistics & numerical data
Middle Aged
Sexual Behavior

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