Educational status and HIV disparities in Cameroon: are uneducated women at reduced risk of HIV infection?

The socioeconomic gradient in health and mortality is a persistent finding in social epidemiology. Indicators of socioeconomic status such as wealth and education are routinely found to be strongly and inversely related to various health outcomes. However, data from the 2004 Cameroon Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) show that HIV prevalence is higher among educated groups, and that this association is particularly strong among women. In this investigation, the authors analysed data from 5,287 women in the 2004 Cameroon DHS to explore possible demographic, socioeconomic and behavioural mechanisms that could account for this association. After including control variables in a series of logistic regression models, the direct association between educational attainment and HIV status was eliminated. Importantly, the study suggests that area of residence and marital status explain most of this association, implying that future policies may want to focus attention on HIV risks related to these factors. Bibliogr., sum. in English and French. [Journal abstract]