Screening for Chlamydia and gonorrhea by strand displacement amplification in homeless adolescents attending youth shelters in Korea.
We conducted the screening of sexually transmitted infections to define the prevalence of genital Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections and status of sexual risk behavior among homeless adolescents (10-19 yr old) in Korea. Adolescents who ran away from home and are under the care of youth shelters in ten cities in Korea served as the study population. Participants filled out a self-administered questionnaire related to sexuality. First-void urine was analyzed for chlamydial and gonococcal infection by strand displacement amplification (BDProbTec ET, BD Diagnostic Systems, MD, U.S.A.). A total of 175 adolescents from 15 youth shelters took part in the study. Their median age was 16 yr, and 54.9% of them reported having sexual intercourse at least once. The prevalence of C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae among homeless adolescents was 12.6% and 15.4%, respectively. Factors significantly associated with the infections were number of sexual partners during the past year and lifetime. This is the first community-based sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening among adolescent in Korea. Screening programs targeting sexually active adolescents are important for detection of STIs. They should be considered an alternative population-based surveillance system in order to control STIs nationally.
Department of Urology, St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic University College of Medicine, 62 Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul 150-713, Korea.
Seung-Ju
SJ
Lee
Yong-Hyun
YH
Cho
Chul Sung
CS
Kim
Bong Suk
BS
Shim
In Rae
IR
Cho
Jae Il
JI
Chung
Jeong Gu
JG
Lee
Min Eui
ME
Kim
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018453:Homeless Youth; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000235:genetics*; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires