The determinants of sexually transmitted infections among reproductive age women in St. Petersburg, Estonia and Finland.
OBJECTIVE
Sexually transmitted infections' (STIs) rate vary in St. Petersburg, Estonia and Finland; the aim was to compare the determinants of self-reported sexually transmitted infections in these areas.


METHODS
Data from four population-based questionnaire surveys were used (Finland in 1992 and 1999; St. Petersburg in 2003; Estonia in 2004). With the exception of the 1992 Finnish survey (interview) all were postal surveys, with 1,070 respondents in Finland (78 and 52% response rates), 1,147 (68%) in St. Petersburg, and 5,190 (54%) in Estonia.


RESULTS
Risky sexual behaviours were equally common in the three areas and the determinants were the same. Women with an STIs history more often had had their first sexual intercourse when aged under 18, had not used condom during first intercourse, had a high number of lifetime or previous year sexual partners. However, marital status and education were not similar determinants. Cohabiting and well-educated women in Finland were more likely to have STIs while in other areas the associations found were not statistically significant.


CONCLUSIONS
Risky behaviour predicts STIs, but does not explain the varying rates of STIs between areas.
Regushevskaya
Elena
E
National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland. elena.regushevskaya@thl.fi
Dubikaytis
Tatiana
T
Laanpere
Made
M
Nikula
Minna
M
Kuznetsova
Olga
O
Karro
Hele
H
Haavio-Mannila
Elina
E
Hemminki
Elina
E
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004957:Estonia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012426:Russia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D015231:Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Bacterial / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000635:transmission; D012923:Social Class; D055815:Young Adult