title: Sex in the suburbs.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many suburban sexual health clinics exist in Australasia. However, sexual health research has hitherto been restricted to populations from major metropolitan centres.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe the demographic, sexual characteristics and presenting diagnoses of 6521 new patients attending a sexual health clinic in the western suburbs of Sydney (New South Wales).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients originated from over 50 different countries. Postcode analysis suggested the clinic sample was representative of the socioeconomic distribution of the area, but there were notable ethnic disparities. The classic bacterial sexually transmitted infections constituted only a small proportion of presentations, with asymptomatic infections and those requiring complex therapies more commonly encountered. This has resource implications for general practitioners and specialist clinics alike. Improved liaison between specialist sexual health clinics and GPs, together with a raised awareness of sexual health services in general, has the potential to significantly improve overall public health.
authors.affiliation: St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weerasinghe
authors.forename: Katerina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lagios
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hillman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013383:Suburban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*