Comparison of socio-demographic profiles of Bangladeshi and forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals HIV patients

Introduction
The purpose of the study is to assess the differences between socio-demographic status of low-prevalence Bangladeshi (BD) and high-prevalence forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals (FDMN) HIV patients.

Material and methods
In this cross-sectional study, demographic details and behavioural patterns were analysed and compared.

Results
The highest number of patients was observed in adult females (54.4%) in FDMN and adult males (54%) in BD (p = 0.006). 97.74% FDMN and 59.70% BD had no income (p = 0.000). Most (94.5%) of the Bangladeshi males were migrants (p = 0.000). There was a significant difference in the mode of transmission between the 2 countries (p = 0.000). The highest mode of transmission among BD was heterogenous sexual exposure (70.8%) and among FDMN it was unsafe injections (49%). Mother-to-child transmission was significantly (p = 0.00) higher among FDMN (16.6%) than BD (8.3%). High-risk behaviours were higher among BD (65%) than FDMN (26%) (p = 0.000). Male clients of BD (35%) and female clients of FDMN (13%) had a higher likelihood of bad habits like smoking and alcohol abuse (p = 0.01). A statistically significant difference (p = 0.002 with 95% CI) was observed in the spousal status of the affected individual between the 2 countries. HIV status was found to be negative in spouses 35% and 64.5% of BD and FDMN, respectively. About 3% of FDMN people had broken/separated from their families due to HIV. About 61% of BD and 37% of FDMN adults had multiple sexual partners (p = 0.001).

Conclusions
This study compares the sociodemographic variability among HIV patients of BD and FDMN groups and measures these results against other similar studies.