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Multiple partners and partner choice as risk factors for sexually transmitted disease among female college students

Abstract:

Multiple sexual partners and partner choice are believed to increase the risk of sexually transmitted disease (STD), but these behaviors had not previously been assessed outside of clinical populations. In this study, a cross-sectional survey among single, white, female students in their senior year of college was conducted to measure the association between be¬havioral risk factors and the acquisition of self-reported STDs during college. The usable response rate was 47.2% (n = 467). The combined prevalence of chlamydial infection, gonorrhea, genital herpes, human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, syphi¬lis, and trichomoniasis during a 3.5-year period was 11.7%. There was a strong association between number of sexual partners and having an STD: those women with 5 or more sex¬ual partners were 8 times more likely to report having an STD than those with only 1 partner, even after adjusting for age at first intercourse (odds ratio = 8.1; 95% confidence interval = 1.99, 32.64). The prevalence of a history of STDs increased with more casual partner choice and earlier age at first inter¬course, but neither factor was independently associated with a history of STDs. Of the respondents, 23% always used con-doms. Future research should focus on identifying ways of effec¬tively changing high-risk sexual behavior. © 1992 American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association.