Citation

Vermund SH, Alexander-Rodriguez T, Macleod S, Kelley KF, Alexander-Rodriquez T. J. Adolesc. Health Care 1990; 11(5): 449-452.

Affiliation

Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.

Erratum On

J Adolesc Health Care 1991 Mar;12(2):214

Copyright

(Copyright © 1990, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

2211280

Abstract

From July 1983 to June 1984, 2521 adolescents were medically screened at entry into a detention facility in New York City. A medical history, physical examination, serology for syphilis, and culture for gonorrhea were obtained from each entrant. A retrospective chart review was conducted for 136 persons with gonorrhea and/or syphilis (79 boys and 57 girls) and 136 sex-matched infection-negative controls. Several characteristics were compared including age, age at first sexual intercourse, sexual abuse history, contraceptive use, and pregnancy status. Among infected cases, 8% of males and 32% of females reported a history of sexual abuse, whereas among controls, no males and 14% of females reported abuse. A history of sexual abuse was strongly associated with gonorrhea or syphilis (odds ratio = 3.4; 95% confidence intervals, 1.5-8.0). These data suggest an association between sexual abuse and subsequent high-risk sexual behavior manifested by a gonorrhea or syphilis infection.

Language: en