Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Sexual Behavior, and Cocaine Use in Inner-city Women

Abstract

The prevalence of untreated sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) was assessed in a cohort of 372 sexually active inner-city women (92% black, 49% US-born) with no history of injection drug use who were recruited in Brooklyn, New York, in 1990 and 1991. The presence of STDs was assessed via culture, serologic analyses, and medical history. Sexual and drug-use histories were obtained, as was a urine sample for toxicologic analysis. Thirty-five percent of the women had at least one STD (27% Trichomonas vaginalis, 6.8% Chlamydia trachomatis, 5.2% syphilis, 2.4% human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and 1.4% Neisseria gonorrhoeae). US-born women were more likely than foreign-born (96% Caribbean) women to have an STD (50% vs. 22%; p < 0.001). Among US-born women, 61% of crack and/or cocaine users had an STD as opposed to 34% of non-users (OR = 2.9, 95% CI 1.6-5.5). Recent crack cocaine use was the strongest predictor of syphilis infection (OR = 12.8, p = 0.019), and was reported by each of the seven HIV-positive women. This study, based on a large sample with laboratory confirmation of both STDs and drug use, documents that women who use crack cocaine are at substantially higher risk of contracting an STD than other women. STD/HIV prevention programs in inner cities should target US-born women, particularly crack cocaine users.

Use of contraceptive methods by sexually active teenagers in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil

“…Male condoms were the most widely used contraceptive method in these adolescents (63.2%), a higher rate than found in the literature, ranging from 3.2% to 22.5% 14,22,23,24 . The condom use rate was higher in boys than in girls, consistent with other studies 12,15 .…”

Autopercepção de vulnerabilidade às doenças sexualmente transmissíveis e Aids em mulheres

“…3 O uso de preservativos, apesar de várias campanhas, ainda é baixo, variando de 3,2% a 22,5% em alguns estudos isolados. 5,7,10,14 No Brasil, em 1996, encontrou-se uma prevalência de uso na última relação de risco de 30,8% em homens e de 11,4% em mulheres, na faixa etária de 15 a 49 anos. 19 Um estudo brasileiro de base populacional, com uma população entre 16 e 65 anos, mostrou uma prevalência de uso de preservativo nos últimos 12 meses que precederam a pesquisa de 24% (64% em relações eventuais).…”

Screening for sexually transmitted infections in substance abuse treatment programs

“…Multiple studies have demonstrated the strong correlation between substance abuse and sexual behaviors that put individuals at risk for STIs (DeHovitz et al, 1994;Poulin et al, 1999Poulin et al, , 2001Ross et al, 1999;Shafer et al, 1993). In a recent study in a substance abuse treatment facility in Birmingham, Alabama, 40% of women and 15% of men reported having ever exchanged sex for drugs, while 53% of women and 36% of men reported a history of STIs (Bachmann et al, 2000).…”