International Journal of STD & AIDS > Volume 20, Number 4 > Pp. 241-248

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Original research articles

Predictors for casual sex and/or infection among sexually transmitted disease clinic attendees in China

F Lu MD PhD ^* , Y Jia MD DrPH  , S Bin MD , C Li MD , S Limei MD ^**, S Kristensen MPH DrPH , X Sun MD , Y Xiao MD DrPH ^*, J Liu MD , D Li MD ^*, S Qu MD PhD ^* and S H Vermund MD PhD 

^* National Center for AIDS Control and Prevention, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100050, P. R. China; Institute for Global Health and Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Anhui Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hefei, Anhui Province 230061; Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province 050017; ^** Guizhou Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guiyang, Guizhou Province 550004, P. R. China; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA; Division of AIDS, Disease Control Bureau, Ministry of Health, Beijing 100050, P.R. China

Correspondance to: Dr F Lu, Division of Policy Research and Information, National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 27 Nanwei Road, Beijing 100050, P.R. China Email: fanlu{at}vip.sina.com

Or to: Dr Y Jia, Institute for Global Health and Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 2525 West End Avenue, Suite 750, Nashville, TN 37203–1783, USA Email: yujiang.jia{at}vanderbilt.edu

To assess the risk factors for casual sex and infections among the sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic attendees in two disparate Chinese cities, an STD clinic-based cross-sectional study was conducted to provide demographic and sexual behaviour information. Participants were recruited from nine STD clinics selected by mapping strategy. STD prevalence was 69.4% (68.6% of men and 65.2% of women). The most common diagnoses were non-gonococcal urethritis (22.2%), genital warts (13.2%), syphilis (11.6%), gonorrhoea (8.4%), chlamydia (6.3%) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) (5.8%). Of 536 participants, 22.5% reported having casual sex in the last three months, younger age, less education, unawareness of transmission routes and having had casual sex in the last three months were independent risk factors for acquisition of an STD. Single or separated marital status, non-local residency and STD diagnoses were independently associated with having had casual sex. After decades of exceedingly low STD rates in China, a full panoply of STD diagnoses are now evident. Both for reproductive health concerns and for stemming the expansion of HIV spread, STD control and prevention must be revitalized as a priority for China's public health and medical institutions. Effective training is a priority, given the dearth of STD-experienced health-care workers.

Key Words: risk factors • STD • casual sex • STD clinic attendee • China

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