Behavioral, Psychological, Gender, and Health Service Correlates to Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Infection among Young Adult Mexican-American Women Living in a Disadvantaged Community

ABSTRACT

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is among the most prevalent sexually transmitted infections in the United States. Despite this, there has been limited research on the correlates to HSV-2 among disadvantaged and marginalized women, particularly among Latinas. Data for the present analysis include 125 young adult Mexican-American women enrolled in a longitudinal study in a disadvantaged urban community in San Antonio, Texas. The current rate of tested HSV-2 infection is 56.8%. Our findings suggest strong comorbidity of genital herpes with injecting heroin use, Hepatitis C, sexual violence, incarceration, and mental illness. Contributing to this population's nexus of risk are the low rates of health service utilization among those infected with HSV-2. Integration between behavioral health and primary care, including access to preventative services, are essential for improving the health of Latinas living in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

KEYWORDS:

• HSV-2
• Mexican Americans
• IPV
• health service utilization
• IDU
• drug use
• mental health

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Esmeralda Ramirez, Adriana Trevino, and Tina Cazares for their work on this project.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA039269). Additional support was provided to the lead author by the Lifespan/ Brown Criminal Justice Research Training (CJRT) Program on Substance Use, HIV, and Comorbidities (R25DA037190). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.