Decreasing seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus type 1 and type 2 in Germany leaves many people susceptible to genital infection: time to raise awareness and enhance control

Korr, Gerit; Thamm, Michael; Czogiel, Irina; Poethko-Mueller, Christina; Bremer, Viviane; Jansen, Klaus

doi:10.1186/s12879-017-2527-1

Table 3 Associations between variables and HSV2 seropositivity in women, Germany 2008–2011

From: Decreasing seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus type 1 and type 2 in Germany leaves many people susceptible to genital infection: time to raise awareness and enhance control

Variables	N	Weighted^a prevalence %	(95% CI)	Univariable Analysis		Multivariable Analysis
Variables	N	Weighted^a prevalence %	(95% CI)	PR^b (95% CI)	p-value	PR^c (95% CI)	p-value
Age group (years)
18–24	227	2.0	(0.8–4.8)	Ref	Ref	Ref	Ref
25–34	277	7.6	(4.5–12.5)	3.9 (1.4–11.1)	0.012	3.5 (1.2–10.4)	0.021
35–44	405	11.5	(7.9–16.4)	5.9 (2.3–15.2)	0.000	5.6 (2.1–14.7)	0.001
45–54	535	16.1	(12.8–20.0)	8.2 (3.2–21.2)	0.000	7.3 (2.7–19.5)	0.000
55–64	461	15.5	(12.0–19.8)	7.9 (3.3–18.9)	0.000	8.0 (3.1–20.5)	0.000
65+	680	12.3	(9.4–15.6)	6.3 (2.4–16.3)	0.000	6.5 (2.5–17.0)	0.000
CASMIN educational classification
Low	841	10.5	(8.2–13.3)	1.2 (0.7–1.8)	0.522	−	−
Medium	1335	12.6	(10.6–15.0)	1.4 (0.9-2.1)	0.131	−	−
High	392	9.1	(6.3–13.0)	Ref	Ref	−	−
Income
Low	750	10.8	(8.2–14.1)	Ref	Ref	−	−
Medium	1529	11.7	(9.8–13.8)	1.1 (0.8–1.5)	0.652	−	−
High	306	14.5	(10.2–20.2)	1.3 (0.9–2.1)	0.204	−	−
Employment situation
Worker	623	12.4	(9.6–16.0)	1.0 (0.7–1.3)	0.884	−	−
Employee	1174	12.7	(10.5–15.4)	Ref	Ref	−	−
Civil servant	128	14.5	(8.6–23.4)	1.1 (0.7–1.9)	0.623	−	−
Free-lance/self-reliant	174	13.2	(8.3–20.5)	1.0 (0.6–1.7)	0.874	−	−
Family worker	47	5.3	(1.4–18.8)	0.4 (0.1–1.6)	0.202	−	−
Other	96	4.0	(1.4–10.8)	0.3 (0.1–0.9)	0.033	−	−
Smoking, currently
Daily	486	15.2	(11.8–19.2)	1.5 (1.1–2.1)	0.006	1.6 (1.0–2.4)	0.033
Occasionally	133	8.7	(4.9–15.1)	0.9 (0.5–1.6)	0.673	1.1 (0.5–2.3)	0.847
No, not anymore	607	13.4	(10.6–16.5)	1.3 (1.0–1.8)	0.031	1.2 (0.9–1.7)	0.226
Never smoked	1345	9.9	(8.1–12.0)	Ref	Ref	Ref	Ref
Number of other children in household during childhood
0	272	12.5	(8.2–18.6)	Ref	Ref	−	−
1–2	1125	9.6	(8.0–11.6)	0.8 (0.5–1.2)	0.221	−	−
> 2	1188	13.6	(11.1–16.5)	1.1 (0.7–1.7)	0.728	−	−
Visit of nursery during childhood
No	614	14.5	(11.7–17.8)	1.5 (1.1–2.0)	0.008	−	−
Yes	1264	9.7	(7.8–12.0)	Ref	Ref	−	−
HSV1 serostatus
HSV1 seronegative	431	7.3	(4.8–11.1)	Ref	Ref	−	−
HSV1 seropositive	2154	12.6	(10.9–14.5)	1.7 (1.1–2.7)	0.017	−	−
Degree of urbanization
Rural	424	9.6	(6.2–14.6)	Ref	Ref	−	−
Provincial	651	11.3	(8.5–14.7)	1.2 (0.7–2.0)	0.539	−	−
Urban	792	10.1	(8.0–12.7)	1.1 (0.6–1.7)	0.835	−	−
Metropolitan	718	14.4	(11.7–17.7)	1.5 (0.9-2.4)	0.095	−	−
Region of residence
West Germany	1778	10.8	(9.2–12.7)	Ref	Ref	−	−
East Germany (including Berlin)	807	14.6	(11.5–18.4)	1.3 (1.0–1.8)	0.037	−	−
German mother tongue
Yes	2390	11.5	(9.9–13.3)	Ref	Ref	−	−
No	172	10.9	(6.9–16.8)	0.9 (0.8–1.5)	0.825	−	−
Number of sexual partners in last 12 months
None	788	12.7	(10.2–15.7)	1.1 (0.8–1.5)	0.500	−	−
1	1588	11.5	(9.6–13.7)	Ref	Ref	−	−
2–3	116	12.0	(5.3–24.8)	1.0 (0.5–2.3)	0.917	−	−
> 3	17	10.3	(1.4–49.0)	0.9 (0.1–6.2)	0.912	−	−
Current use of birth control methods^d
Yes	740	8.5	(6.3–11.3)	Ref	Ref	−	−
No	1140	14.1	(12.0–16.6)	1.7 (1.2–2.3)	0.003	−	−
Which birth control method
-Contraceptive Pill
Yes	363	7.0	(4.4–10.8)	Ref	Ref	−	−
No	353	9.6	(6.5–14.0)	1.4 (0.8–2.4)	0.264	−	−
-Condoms
Yes	217	8.0	(4.7–13.4)	Ref	Ref	−	−
No	499	8.4	(5.7–12.3)	1.0 (0.5–2.1)	0.892	−	−
Miscarriage
None	1504	10.4	(8.5–12.6)	Ref	Ref	−	−
1 or more	424	15.9	(12.1–20.6)	1.5 (1.1–2.1)	0.009	−	−
Abortion
None	1538	10.1	(8.4–12.2)	Ref	Ref	Ref	Ref
1 or more	351	20.1	(15.3–25.9)	2.0 (1.4–2.7)	0.000	1.5 (1.1–2.2)	0.023

In italics: PR is statistically significant (p < 0.05)
^aWe used survey weights to account for deviations of the survey sample from the sampling parameters (i.e. age, sex, region, urban/rural region, community size, citizenship and education)
^bIf a p-value was <0.2 in the univariable analysis, we included that variable in a stepwise forward variable selection to find a suitable multivariable model
^cAdjusted prevalence rates (PR) of variables which stayed in the final model (p-value ≤0.05) are reported
^dWomen older than 65 years of age were not asked about their current use of birth control methods

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