Partner age not associated with recurrent Chlamydia trachomatis infection, condom use, or partner treatment and referral among adolescent women.
OBJECTIVE
Among adolescent women, having older sexual partners has been associated with initial Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) infection and high-risk behaviors. This study evaluates the role of older partners in the risk of three outcomes: recurrent Ct, lack of condom use, and nonadherence with partner management (PM) strategies.


METHODS
Female participants aged 14 to 18 years enrolled in a randomized clinical trial of patient-delivered partner treatment (PDPT) with at least one follow-up visit were included in this secondary analysis. Patient- and partner-level data were collected at baseline, one, and four months follow-up. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) and logistic regression were used to examine unadjusted and adjusted associations.


RESULTS
The majority of the 496 women were African-American (63.3%), aged 16 to 18 years (62.3%), and asymptomatic for Ct (66.7%). At baseline, all of the women had laboratory-demonstrated Ct and were treated; they had 622 partners during the last 60 days, 21.4% reported having more than one partner with a mean (SD) of 1.5 (.78) partners per woman, and 46.3% of the partners were at least three years older than the woman. Over follow-up, 16.1% of the women experienced Ct recurrence, in 41.9% of the partnerships a condom was not used at last sex, and 80.6% of women reported giving PM. After adjusting for confounders, having a partner at least three years older was not associated with increased risk of Ct recurrence, lack of condom use, or nonadherence to PM strategies.


CONCLUSIONS
Risk of Ct recurrence, lack of condom use, and nonadherence to PM strategies was not higher among adolescent women with older partners.
Magnus
Manya
M
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, Washington, DC 20037, USA. sphmdm@gwumc.edu
Schillinger
Julia A
JA
Fortenberry
J Dennis
JD
Berman
Stuart M
SM
Kissinger
Patricia
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy / Q000635:transmission; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis; D017280:Condoms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010349:Patient Compliance; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors