Impact of sexual networks on risk for gonorrhea and chlamydia among low-income urban African American adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether African American adolescents, whose recent sex partners reported having another sex partner, are at increased risk for exposure to genital chlamydial infection or gonorrhea.


METHODS
A household sample of low-income urban African American adolescents 14 to 19 years of age, up to two of their close friends, and their sex partners were interviewed and tested for gonorrhea and chlamydial infection.


RESULTS
Thirty-four of 145 adolescents had at least one recent sex partner infected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae and/or Chlamydia trachomatis. The adjusted model showed that adolescents, whose recent sex partners reported having another sex partner, were more likely to have a recent sex partner with gonorrhea and/or chlamydial infection.


CONCLUSIONS
In addition to individual factors, network factors may explain why African American adolescents are at increased risk for exposure to sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Multi-level community-based interventions may need to address network factors along with personal behaviors in order to prevent STIs among low-income urban African American adolescents.
Ellen
Jonathan M
JM
Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, 600 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA. jellen@jhmi.edu
Brown
Beth A
BA
Chung
Shang-En
SE
Potterat
John J
JJ
Muth
Stephen Q
SQ
Valente
Thomas W
TW
Padian
Nancy S
NS
D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D005260:Female; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population