Condom effectiveness for prevention of Chlamydia trachomatis infection.
OBJECTIVE
A growing body of evidence is increasingly demonstrating the effectiveness of condoms for sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention. The purpose of the present analysis was to provide a disease specific estimate for the effectiveness of condoms in preventing Chlamydia trachomatis infection while controlling for known exposure to infection.


METHODS
Condom effectiveness for C trachomatis was estimated using a medical record database from a public sexually transmitted disease clinic (n = 1455). Clients were classified as having known exposure to C trachomatis if they presented to the clinic as a contact to an infected partner.


RESULTS
Among clients with known exposure, 13.3% of consistent condom users were diagnosed with C trachomatis infection compared to 34.4% of inconsistent condom users (adjusted odds ratio = 0.10; 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.83). Among clients with unknown exposure, there was no observed protective effect of condoms.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides further evidence that condoms are effective in preventing C trachomatis infection by reporting a disease specific estimate and restricting analyses to individuals with known exposure.
Niccolai
L M
LM
Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, 60 College Street, PO Box 208034 New Haven, CT 06520-8034, USA. linda.niccolai@yale.edu
Rowhani-Rahbar
A
A
Jenkins
H
H
Green
S
S
Dunne
D W
DW
D000328:Adult; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012747:Sexual Partners