Moving Upstream: Ecosocial and Psychosocial Correlates of Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Young Adults in the United States

Young adults have a higher risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than other age groups. This risk may be mediated by their social and cultural setting which can impact young adults’ awareness of, beliefs in, and risk of contracting STIs (including HIV/AIDS). In order to understand how these factors vary among young adults of different cultures, it is important to study these issues on a cross-cultural scale. This study aimed to increase understanding of the relationship between the culture of a place of study and: (1) STI awareness; (2) belief in STIs; and (3) self-reported STI prevalence in the study population. Survey data were collected from university students in Madagascar (n = 242 surveys in 2013) and the United States of America (n = 199 surveys in 2015). Compared to students at the American university, students at the Malagasy university: (1) did not appear to have a conclusively lower awareness of STIs; (2) did not differ in rates of belief in the existence of gonorrhea and syphilis, but had higher rates of disbelief in HIV/AIDS; and (3) were more likely to report having been infected with syphilis and gonorrhea, but not with HIV/AIDS. Students at the Malagasy university also listed different reasons than the students at the American university for why they believed in the existence of STIs. These findings highlight the need for further cross-cultural research to better adapt intervention strategies to different cultural settings.

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The Estimated Number and Lifetime Medical Cost of HIV Infections Attributable to Sexually Transmitted Infections Acquired in the United States in 2018

Sexually Transmitted Diseases ◽

10.1097/olq.0000000000001358 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽

Author(s):

Harrell Chesson ◽

Ruiguang Song ◽

Adrienna Bingham ◽

Paul G. Farnham

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Sexually Transmitted Infections ◽

Medical Cost ◽

Hiv Infections ◽

The United States ◽

Sexually Transmitted

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Addressing sexually transmitted infections in the sociocultural context of black heterosexual relationships in the United States

Social Science & Medicine ◽

10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113303 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 263 ◽

pp. 113303 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Natasha Crooks ◽

Akilah Wise ◽

Tyralynn Frazier

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Sexually Transmitted Infections ◽

The United States ◽

Sociocultural Context ◽

Heterosexual Relationships ◽

Sexually Transmitted

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Human Immunodeficiency Virus Pre-exposure Prophylaxis and Increased Incidence of Sexually Transmitted Infections in the United States

Clinical Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/cid/ciz552 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 70 (9) ◽

pp. 1884-1890 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jose A Serpa ◽

Gabriel N Huynh ◽

Julie B Nickell ◽

Hongyu Miao

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Human Immunodeficiency Virus ◽

Sexually Transmitted Infections ◽

State Level ◽

The United States ◽

Incidence Rates ◽

Interrupted Time Series Analysis ◽

Sexually Transmitted ◽

Immunodeficiency Virus ◽

Exposure Prophylaxis

Abstract Background Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) decreases HIV transmission. Some studies have raised concerns about a potential association between the implementation of HIV PrEP and the growing incidence rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States. Methods We conducted a quasi-experimental (interrupted time series) analysis of STI (syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia) rates before (2000–2012) and after (2013–2017) the implementation of HIV PrEP. We also performed correlations between HIV PrEP utilization and STI cases at the national (2012–2017) and state (2017) levels. We defined HIV PrEP utilization as the number of people taking tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine for HIV prevention. Results HIV PrEP implementation was associated with 25% (relative risk [RR] 1.254, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.245–1.263; P < .001) and 26% (RR 1.260, 95% CI 1.257–1.264; P < .001) increases in syphilis and gonorrhea rates, respectively, and a 12% reduction in chlamydia rates (RR: 0.884, 95% CI 0.883–0.885; P < .001). HIV PrEP utilization was correlated with the numbers of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia cases (spearman coefficients 1.00, 0.94, and 0.94, respectively; P < .001, P < .01, and P < .01, respectively). At the state level, HIV PrEP was also correlated with the number of cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia (spearman coefficients 0.85, 0.81, and 0.85, respectively; Ps < .001 for all correlations). Conclusions The implementation and utilization of HIV PrEP in the United States were associated with increased rates of STIs. Further studies to confirm these associations and to elucidate potential causes are needed.

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