Associations of hair cortisol levels with violence, poor mental health, and harmful alcohol and other substance use among female sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya.

Autor: Panneh M; Department for Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK. Mamtuti.panneh@lshtm.ac.uk., Ding Q; Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada., Kabuti R; Partners for Health and Development in Africa, Nairobi, Kenya., Bradley J; MRC International Statistics and Epidemiology Group, Department for Infectious Disease Epidemiology, LSHTM, London, UK., Ngurukiri P; Partners for Health and Development in Africa, Nairobi, Kenya., Kungu M; Partners for Health and Development in Africa, Nairobi, Kenya., Abramsky T; Department for Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK., Pollock J; Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada., Beksinska A; Department for Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK., Shah P; Department for Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK., Irungu E; Partners for Health and Development in Africa, Nairobi, Kenya., Gafos M; Department for Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK., Seeley J; Department for Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK., Weiss HA; MRC International Statistics and Epidemiology Group, Department for Infectious Disease Epidemiology, LSHTM, London, UK., Elzagallaai AA; Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada., Rieder MJ; Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada., Kaul R; Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada., Kimani J; Partners for Health and Development in Africa, Nairobi, Kenya., Beattie T; Department for Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Discover mental health [Discov Ment Health] 2024 Aug 28; Vol. 4 (1), pp. 29. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 28.
DOI: 10.1007/s44192-024-00086-1
Abstrakt: Violence, poor mental health, and harmful substance use are commonly experienced by female sex workers (FSWs) in sub-Saharan Africa, all of which are associated with increased HIV susceptibility. We aimed to investigate the associations between violence, poor mental health and harmful alcohol/substance use with hair cortisol concentration (HCC) levels as a potential biological pathway linking the experiences of these stressors and HIV vulnerability. We used the baseline data of the Maisha Fiti study of FSWs in Nairobi, Kenya. Participants reported recent violence, poor mental health, and harmful alcohol/substance use. Hair samples proximal to the scalp were collected to measure cortisol levels determined by ELISA. We analysed the data of 425 HIV-negative respondents who provided at least 2 cm of hair sample. The prevalence of recent violence was 89.3% (physical 54.6%; sexual 49.4%; emotional 77.0% and financial 66.5%), and 29.1% had been arrested due to sex work. 23.7% of participants reported moderate/severe depression, 11.6% moderate/severe anxiety, 13.5% PTSD and 10.8% recent suicidal thoughts and/or attempts. About half of the participants (48.8%) reported recent harmful alcohol and/or other substance use. In multivariable linear regression analyses, both physical and/or sexual violence (adjusted geometric mean ratio (aGMR) = 1.28; 95% CI 1.01-1.62) and harmful alcohol and/or other substance use (aGMR = 1.31; 95% CI 1.03-1.65) were positively and independently associated with increased HCC levels. Findings suggest a role of violence and substance use in elevated HCC levels, which could increase HIV risk due to cortisol-related T cell activation. However, longitudinal and mechanistic studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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