Behavioral contributions to acquisition of gonorrhea in patients attending an inner city sexually transmitted disease clinic

Article Abstract:

Gonorrhea is the most common reportable disease in the United States, meaning it is the most common disease for which cases are reported to, and tabulated by, the Centers for Disease Control. Between 1.5 and 2.0 million people are affected by gonorrhea each year in the United States. The cases are not distributed equally throughout the population, and a core group of high-risk individuals exists among whom the prevalence of gonorrhea may be as high as 20 percent. In order to identify the correlations between behavior and gonorrhea in a population at high risk, patients at an inner city sexually transmitted disease clinic were interviewed about their sexual practices. The subjects were 413 men and 194 women. The results illustrate the intricate relationship between behavior and sexually transmitted disease. The number of lifetime sexual partners bore no clear relationship to the likelihood of gonorrhea in an individual. Furthermore, although the chance of gonorrhea increased somewhat with the number of sexual partners in the month preceding the clinic visit, this increase was not statistically significant. Somewhat surprisingly, prostitution or the use of prostitutes was not associated with an increased rate of gonorrhea for either women or men. The nature of reported relationships, however, did correlate with the likelihood of gonorrhea. Among men, those reporting casual relationships and those finding a new partner in the month preceding the clinic visit had higher rates of gonorrhea. This was not true for women, who were more likely to catch gonorrhea from their regular partners. Many of the clinic visits were prompted by the notification of exposure to gonorrhea; a full third of the patients continued to have sex after either notification of exposure or the development of symptoms. An analysis was also performed of "repeaters", or individuals who had had more than one episode of gonorrhea. These individuals were more likely to use drugs, have more than one casual partner, and have used prostitutes than those patients with only one episode of gonorrhea. Among these individuals, the number of sex partners in the previous month was no longer a significant predictor of the likelihood of gonorrhea. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Sex, Sexual behavior, Gonorrhea

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Cytomegalovirus infection in sexually active adolescents

Article Abstract:

The probability that cytomegalovirus (CMV) is sexually transmitted is evidenced by its presence in semen, saliva, and cervical secretions. Male homosexuals have been known to be at particular risk, as have those with high numbers of sexual contacts. Women attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic have been shown to have antibodies to CMV at the rate of up to 37 percent of cases per year. Because CMV can be sexually transmitted, attention has been focused upon women of childbearing age because of the likelihood that the disease can be passed on prior to or during childbirth. If having several partners or frequent sex increases one's chances of being infected with CMV, adolescent girls may be at particular risk; the high rate of teenage pregnancy is evidence of the sexual activity of this group. To determine if there is a relationship between sexual activity among teenaged girls and CMV infection, a study was designed to study teenaged girls attending a sex clinic. There were 254 girls with a mean age of 15.8 years who were enrolled in the study, and all participants were interviewed to obtain demographic data and history of sexual activity, and they received laboratory tests for several sexually transmitted diseases (STD). It was found that 68 percent of the girls in the study tested positive for antibodies for CMV, meaning that they had been infected with the virus, whether they were symptomatic or not. Risk factors identified for infection with CMV were race (blacks were most likely to be infected), sexual activity history of greater than three years, and having had more than two lifetime sex partners. The results provide evidence for the hypothesis that sexual activity, incorporating frequency and number of partners, is an important risk factor for infection by CMV in this population. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Diseases, Teenage girls, Teenagers, Youth, Cytomegalovirus infections

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