Cent Eur J Public Health 2014, 22(Supplement):S32-S36

The Prevalence of Chlamydia Trachomatis in the Population Living in Roma Settlements: a Comparison with the Majority Population

Monika Halánová1, Pavol Jarčuška2, Zuzana Kalinová1, Katarína Cáriková2, Jaroslava Oravcová1, Peter Jarčuška3, Daniel Pella3, Mária Mareková4, Andrea Madarasová Gecková5,6, Lýdia Čisláková1
1 Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Košice, Slovakia
2 Department of Infectology and Travel Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Košice, Slovakia
3 1st Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Košice, Slovakia
4 Department of Medical and Clinical Biochemistry and LABMED, Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Košice, Slovakia
5 Health Psychology Unit, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Košice, Slovakia
6 Olomouc University Social Health Institute, Palacký University in Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic

Background: We aimed to study the occurrence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in the population living in Roma settlements and to compare the obtained results with the prevalence in the majority population.

Methods: We examined 340 people for the presence of bacterium C. trachomatis, 208 of them were Roma (66 men, 142 women) and 132 were from the majority population (75 men, 57 women). Respondents were aged 18-55 years (mean age = 33.44, STD=9.57). The occurence of C. trachomatis was detected by direct proof of the pathogen by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Results: Of 340 respondents included in the study, 22 (6.5%) showed positivity for C. trachomatis infection, 15 of them were Roma (7.2%) and 7 non-Roma (5.3%). The highest positivity was detected in Roma women (8.5%), while positivity in both non-Roma women and men was 5.3%, and in Roma men 4.5%. We did not confirm any significant contribution of age, gender or ethnicity to the occurrence of C. trachomatis infection.

Conclusions: Despite the increased number of people with risk factors in the Roma community, no significant difference in the occurrence of C. trachomatis infection was found. Neither age nor gender contributes to the probability of C. trachomatis infection. Nevertheless, there are other health consequences which might be more pronounced among the population living in Roma settlements due to barriers to the health care and their lower ability to benefit from health care services provided.

Keywords: Chlamydia trachomatis, Roma population, non-Roma population, prevalence

Published: March 1, 2014  Show citation

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Halánová M, Jarčuška P, Kalinová Z, Cáriková K, Oravcová J, Jarčuška P, et al.. The Prevalence of Chlamydia Trachomatis in the Population Living in Roma Settlements: a Comparison with the Majority Population. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2014;22(Supplement):S32-36. PubMed PMID: 24847612.
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