Physical and sexual violence and incident sexually transmitted infections.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether women aged 13-35 who were victims of interpersonal violence were more likely than nonvictims to experience incident sexually transmitted infections (STIs).


METHODS
We examined 542 women aged 13-35 enrolled in Project PROTECT, a randomized clinical trial that compared two different methods of computer-based intervention to promote the use of dual methods of contraception. Participants completed a baseline questionnaire that included questions about their history of interpersonal violence and were followed for incident STIs over the 2-year study period. We compared the incidence of STIs in women with and without a history of interpersonal violence using bivariate analyses and multiple logistic regression.


RESULTS
In the bivariate analyses, STI incidence was found to be significantly associated with African American race/ethnicity, a higher number of sexual partners in the past month, and a lower likelihood of avoidance of sexual partners who pressure to have sex without a condom. In both crude and adjusted regression analyses, time to STI incidence was faster among women who reported physical or sexual abuse in the year before study enrollment (HRR(adj) = 1.68, 95% CI 1.06, 2.65).


CONCLUSIONS
Women with a recent history of abuse are at significantly increased risk of STI incidence than are nonvictims.
Allsworth
Jenifer E
JE
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, St. Louis, Missouri 63110-1501, USA. allsworthj@wudosis.wustl.edu
Anand
Mallika
M
Redding
Colleen A
CA
Peipert
Jeffrey F
JF
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012306:Risk; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014754:Violence; D055815:Young Adult