Behavioral risk factors for sexually transmitted disease in american households

Karen Paige Ericksen and Karen F. Trocki

Social Science & Medicine, 1992, vol. 34, issue 8, 843-853

Abstract: The analysis of a representative survey of households (n = 968) in a San Francisco Bay Area county provides strong evidence for the role of problem drinking as a risk factor for sexually transmitted disease independent of drinking patterns and drug use. Among women, age, race, early age at first intercourse, history of multiple partners, drinking patterns, as well as current symptoms of problem drinking were all associated with reported STD rates. Stepwise logistic regression analysis showed, however, that female problem drinkers are nearly four and a half times more likely (adjusted O.R. = 4.65, 95% C.I. = 1.30, 16.70) than other women to have had STDs independent of all these potential risk factors. Problem drinking puts women at a greater risk for STDs than a history of multiple sex partners (adjusted O.R. = 2.75, 95% C.I. = 0.98, 7.75). This finding is also observed among men, among whom STDs were associated with a history of multiple sex partners (adjusted O.R. = 4.12, 95% C.I. = 1.90, 8.94) and the lifetime prevalence of drinking problems (adjusted O.R. = 4.95, 95% C.I. = 2.13, 11.50). Frequent bar-going, drunkenness episodes, high volume drinking, feeling disinhibited while drinking and drug use increase the risk for STDs via their effects on the rate of sex partner change. Problem drinking determines STD rates independent of these factors. The implications of these findings for future research and health policy are discussed.

Keywords: sexually; transmitted; diseases; problem; drinking; women; sexual; behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1992
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0277-9536(92)90254-N
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:34:y:1992:i:8:p:843-853

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
http://www.elsevier. ... _01_ooc_1&version=01

Access Statistics for this article

Social Science & Medicine is currently edited by Ichiro (I.) Kawachi and S.V. (S.V.) Subramanian

More articles in Social Science & Medicine from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().