Table 2

Factors associated with syphilis in female sex workers from eight provinces in Panama, October 2009–May 2011

Category	Characteristic†	Syphilis (n=38)		Unadjusted OR	p Value	Adjusted OR	p Value
Category	Characteristic†	n positive/ total	(%)	(95% CI)	p Value	(95% CI)	p Value
Sociodemographics	Regulation
	Registered	13/620	(2.1)	0.30 (0.15–0.60)	0.0006	0.35 (0.16–0.74)	0.0058
	Unregistered	25/379	(6.6)	1.00
	Province
	Panama	19/455	(4.2)	0.82 (0.39–1.73)	0.6091
	Colón	3/150	(2.0)	0.39 (0.11–1.39)	0.1457
	Chiriquí	4/155	(2.6)	0.50 (0.16–1.58)	0.2390
	Other*	11/175	(6.3)	1.00
	Age, years
	24 or less	9/320	(2.8)	1.00
	25–29	11/261	(4.2)	1.54 (0.65–3.69)	0.3284
	30–39	7/271	(2.6)	0.94 (0.34–2.62)	0.9062
	40+	11/139	(7.9)	3.02 (1.25–7.27)	0.0139
	Nationality
	Panamanian	25/487	(5.1)	2.03 (1.02–4.01)	0.0423
	Foreigner	13/500	(2.6)	1.00
	Race
	African descent	12/164	(7.3)	2.76 (1.34–5.69)	0.0060
	Other	22/791	(2.8)	1.00
	Education
	Incomplete secondary or less	29/536	(5.4)	2.84 (1.33–6.06)	0.007
	Complete Secondary or technical school or university	9/456	(2.0)	1.00
	Work location
	Street	17/157	(10.8)	4.43 (2.23–8.81)	<0.0001
	Premises	18/675	(2.7)	1.00
Serology	Anti-HIV
	Positive	1/7	(14.3)	4.30 (0.50–36.65)	0.1819
	Negative	37/992	(3.7)	1.00
	Anti-HBc
	Positive	7/87	(8.0)	2.49 (1.06–5.83)	0.0360
	Negative	31/912	(3.4)	1.00
	Anti-HSV-2
	Positive	37/741	(5.0)	13.51 (1.84–98.94)	0.0104	10.05 (1.36–74.38)	0.0239
	Negative	1/257	(0.4)	1.00
Sexual risk behaviour	Forced sex
	Yes	12/132	(9.1)	3.19 (1.57–6.49)	0.0014	2.470 (1.11–5.48)	0.0262
	No	26/855	(3.0)	1.00
	Regular client construction worker	21/346	(6.1)	2.42 (1.26–4.65)	0.0081
	Regular client transportation worker	14/204	(6.9)	2.37 (1.20–4.66)	0.0127
	Regular client police officer	10/180	(5.6)	1.66 (0.79–3.49)	0.1790
	Regular client in military	7/79	(8.9)	2.79 (1.19–6.55)	0.0187
	Anal sex with non-regular partner
	Yes	10/141	(7.1)	2.26 (1.06–4.79)	0.0341
	No	26/794	(3.3)	1.00
	Condom use with non-regular partner
	Vaginal sex
	Never/inconsistent	11/104	(10.6)	3.84 (1.81–8.18)	0.0005
	Always	22/737	(3.0)	1.00
	Anal sex
	Never/inconsistent	4/27	(14.8)	3.69 (0.92–14.80)	0.0658
	Always	5/111	(4.5)	1.00
	Sexual contact with foreigners
	No	19/280	(6.8)	1.00
	Yes	17/687	(2.5)	0.35 (0.18–0.68)	0.0020
	Sex work, another country
	Yes	4/178	(2.2)	0.47 (0.16–1.35)	0.1627
	No	33/712	(4.6)	1.00
Health history	Sexually transmitted infection history
	Yes	9/111	(8.1)	2.61 (1.20–5.68)	0.0152	2.37 (1.01–5.58)	0.0486
	No	29/888	(3.3)	1.00
	Use contraceptives
	No	15/285	(5.3)	0.63 (0.32–1.23)	0.1768
	Yes	23/678	(3.4)	1.00
Drug use	Never used drugs	22/737	(3.0)	0.47 (0.24–0.91)	0.0262
	Used marijuana	11/152	(7.2)	2.37 (1.15–4.89)	0.0194

*‘Other’ included Coclé, Herrera, Los Santos, Bocas del Toro, and Veraguas.
†Only characteristics significant at p<0.20 are shown and were considered in multivariate analysis.