Frequency of Risk Factors of HIV and Hepatitis Infections among the Homeless in Tehran, Iran (2005-2007)

Background and Identifying the risk factors of Hepatitis C, B, and HIV is necessary to prevent their increasing prevalence. Therefore, we sought to identify the frequency of their risk factors among the homeless of Tehran, Iran during 2005 to 2007. Methods and Materials: This descriptive analytical study was conducted during 2005 to 2007 on the homeless population of Tehran, Iran. Two groups of patients were enrolled in this study: 103 HIV-positive and 75 hepatitis patients were examined (total 178), and relevant risk factors were investigated. The relevant details of the participants were obtained and recorded by a questionnaire, HIV and Hepatitis diagnosis using Eliza technique. Data were analyzed using Chi square and factor analysis in SPSS 13. 60.8% of the HIV positive cases and 43.88% of the hepatitis cases had no relations with their friends; the difference was statistically significant (p=0.027). Also, 94.2% of the AIDS cases and 85.1% of the hepatitis cases were deprived of their family support, and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.o44). the prevalence of addiction to crack and heroin was 28% and 44.7% in hepatitis and AIDS sufferers respectively, where the difference was statistically significant (p=0.023). The results of factor analysis revealed five major factors: familial factors (relation with family, relation with friends, lifestyle), type of addiction (opium, crack, heroin), social factors (sex, incarceration history, family support), personal factors (age, marital status, living parents), cultural factors (education, psychological problems). The five factors related to HIV comprised 68.42% of the total variance, and those of hepatitis 56.69% of the total variance. The risk factors among the two groups are having no relations with friends, lack of family support and addiction to crack or heroin.