Prevalence of Symptom-based Sexually Transmitted Infections and Related Factors among Incarcerated Men in Iran, 2013

Abstract

Background: Prisoners are at higher risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than the general population. This study reported the prevalence and correlated factors of STI-related symptoms among male prisoners in Iran. Methods: Participants were selected from 27 prisons across 16 Iranian provinces in 2013 using a multistage cluster sampling (N = 5490). Men aged ≥18 years who spent at least one week in prison and self-reported having had sex during the previous year were eligible and asked if they have had penile discharge (PD) or genital ulcers (GU) within the last year. Demographic variables, HIV/STIs-related knowledge, STIs care-seeking practices, HIV self-perceived risk, history of substance use, and sexual behaviors were collected by face-to-face interviews. HIV tests were completed using the ELISA method. Factors associated with STIs-related symptoms were examined using logistic regression models, and adjusted odds ratios (AOR) along with their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported. Results: Of 2,620 eligible male prisoners (mean age ± SD = 35.7 ± 8.9), 6.9% reported symptoms for PD, GU, or both; of whom 36.2% had not sought STIs care inside prison. A history of injection drug use (AOR = 2.14; 95% CI: 1.45, 3.14), having access to condoms inside prison (AOR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.08, 2.82), self-perceived risk of HIV (AOR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.03, 2.24), and HIV-seropositivity (AOR = 3.30, 95% CI: 1.02, 10.61) were positively and having sufficient STIs-related knowledge (AOR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.89) was negatively associated with reporting STIs-related symptoms. Conclusion: Despite the low prevalence of STIs among Iranian prisoners, initiation of screening among high-risk prisoners, including people who inject drugs and prisoners living with HIV, may prevent subsequent health effects. Current HIV/STIs prevention policies across Iranian prisons to help improve prisoners' HIV/STIs knowledge and encourage their HIV/STIs preventive practices should be reinforced.

HIV testing among incarcerated people with a history of HIV-related high-risk behaviours in Iran: Findings from three consecutive national bio-behavioural surveys

“…The eligibility criteria across all surveys were being incarcerated for at least one week, having not participated in a similar study in the previous two months, and providing verbal informed consent [ 27 ]. Gender-matched trained interviewers conducted face-to-face interviews in a private room inside the prisons.…”

Point and Lifetime Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Based on the Definitions of the Iranian Syndrome Surveillance System: A Hospital-Based Survey

“…Currently, there are only two sources of information regarding the epidemiology of sexually transmitted infections in Iran: (1) Individual studies conducted in different parts of the Iranian population (2,11); and (2) the Iranian syndrome-based surveillance system for STIs. Only a few studies have been conducted on the prevalence of STIs in Iran, and most of them used specific populations with nonrandom sampling approaches (2,(11)(12)(13). Also, due to the variety of centers providing STI treatment services, collecting information for surveillance systems, especially from the private sector, and monitoring the actual trend of STIs is difficult (14,15).…”