Incarceration Rates and Incidence of Sexually Transmitted Infections in US Counties, 2011–2016

Abstract

Objectives. To examine rates of sexually transmitted infections as a function of jail and prison incarceration rates across US counties for the years 2011 to 2016. Methods. We used data from several national databases. The outcomes were county-level chlamydia and gonorrhea incidence as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012–2016). The exposures were lagged specifications of county-level jail and prison incarceration rates as reported by the Vera Institute of Justice (2011–2015). We estimated mixed models to account for the 3 sources of response variable variation occurring across repeated measures collected from counties nested within states. Results. In the final model, jail and prison incarceration rates were associated with a rate increase of 10.13 per 100 000 and 8.22 per 100 000, respectively, of chlamydia incidence. The corresponding rate increases for gonorrhea incidence were 2.47 per 100 000 and 4.40 per 100 000. Conclusions. These findings provide some evidence that the documented differences in chlamydia and gonorrhea incidence between counties may be partially attributable to differences in jail and prison incarceration rates.

Paired Testing of Sexually Transmitted Infections With Urine Pregnancy Tests in Incarcerated Women

“…Because counties with higher incarceration rates have also been associated with higher rates of GC and CT, the expansion of screening efforts through paired testing could represent the first step in decreasing these geographic disparities. 18 …”

Motivational interviewing for family planning and reducing risky sexual behavior among incarcerated men nearing release: A randomized controlled pilot study.

“…Risky sexual behavior—such as sex without a condom, casual sexual encounters, having multiple sexual partners, combining substance use and sex—is higher among men with a history of incarceration or those who have been recently released compared to men in the general public (Brinkley-Rubinstein et al, 2016; Hammett et al, 1999; Khan et al, 2011, 2018; Margolis et al, 2006; Morrow, 2009; Nowotny et al, 2020; Rosengard et al, 2006; Rowell-Cunsolo et al, 2018; Wise et al, 2019). As a result, incarcerated men also have higher rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) compared to those who have never been incarcerated (Margolis et al, 2006; Nowotny et al, 2020; Wiehe et al, 2015). Disparities in social determinants of health (e.g., lack of access to reproductive health care, marginalization, economic disadvantage, systemic racism) have been found to contribute to these inequities (Fenton, 2001; Hogben & Leichliter, 2008).…”

A comprehensive framework for operationalizing structural racism in health research: The association between mass incarceration of Black people in the U.S. and adverse birth outcomes

“…Mothers of imprisoned adult children and women with incarcerated spouses are significantly more likely than the general population to have obesity, have had a heart attack or stroke, contract sexually transmitted infections, and be in poor general health ( Dauria et al, 2015 ; Goldman, 2019 ; Lee et al, 2014 ). Beyond the individual's immediate social ties, concentrated incarceration rates at the neighborhood, zip-code, county, and state levels, have been positively associated with a range of physical and mental morbidities ( Dauria et al, 2015 ; Escobar & Taheri, 2020 ; Frank et al, 2013 ; Hatzenbuehler et al, 2015 ; Holaday et al, 2021 ; Kajeepeta et al, 2020 , 2021 ; Nowotny et al, 2020 ; Ojikutu et al, 2018 ; Porter, Thomas, & Emch, 2010 ; Topel et al, 2018 ), including adverse birth outcomes – the focal health outcome in this paper ( Chambers et al, 2018 ; Conway, 2021 ; Dyer et al, 2019 ; Jahn et al, 2020 ; Sealy-Jefferson et al, 2020 ; Wallace et al, 2015 , 2017 ; Wildeman, 2012 ).…”