Demographic and behavioral characteristics of male sexually transmitted disease patients in Japan: a nationwide case-control study.
BACKGROUND
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) increased rapidly in Japan during the 1990s.


METHODS
To determine the epidemiologic characteristics of STI patients, male cases (n = 765) from 21 clinics across Japan and controls from the general population (n = 1,167), both aged 18 to 59 years, were compared using two datasets of nationwide sexual behavior surveys conducted in 1999.


RESULTS
Male STI patients were more likely to be <40 years of age (OR = 3.94, 95% CI: 2.17, 7.15), unmarried (OR = 2.65, 95% CI: 1.80, 3.91), and at least college/university educated (OR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.45, 2.83). They were also more likely to have had multiple partnerships in the previous year (OR = 3.33, 95% CI: 2.20, 5.05 for 2-3 partners, OR = 6.29, 95% CI: 3.81, 10.37 for >or=4 partners), unprotected vaginal sex with regular partners (OR = 2.70, 95% CI: 1.75, 4.17), unprotected vaginal and/or oral sex with casual partners (OR = 2.14, 95% CI: 1.40, 3.26), and unprotected vaginal (OR = 2.64, 95% CI: 1.46, 4.80) and oral sex with paid partners (OR = 4.72, 95% CI: 3.04, 7.32) in the previous year.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that male STI patients in Japan are highly educated and have a diverse occupational background, and that STI risks exist universally for various types of sex and sexual partnerships.
Department of Drug Management and Policy, Kanazawa University Faculty of Pharmacy, Institute of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa city, Ishikawa 920-1192, Japan.
Takayuki
T
Homma
Masako
M
Ono-Kihara
Saman
S
Zamani
Yumiko H
YH
Nishimura
Elko
E
Kobori
Yasuharu
Y
Hidaka
Shahrzad M
SM
Ravari
Masahiro
M
Kihara
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003710:Demography; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D047568:Unsafe Sex; D055815:Young Adult