Self-Reported Sexually Transmitted Infections and Sexual Risk Behaviors in the US Military

Abstract

Background Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are prevalent in the U.S. military. However, there are limited data on risk-factor differences between genders. Methods We used data from the 2008 Department of Defense Survey of Health Related Behaviors among Active Duty Military Personnel to identify risk factors for self-reported STIs within the past 12 months and multiple sexual partners among sexually active unmarried service members. Results There were 10,250 active duty personnel; mostly White (59.3%) aged 21-25 years (42.6%). The prevalence of any reported STI in the past 12 months was 4.2% for men and 6.9% for women. One-fourth of men and 9.3% of women reported five or more sexual partners in the past 12 months. Binge drinking, illicit substance use, and unwanted sexual contact were associated with increased report of sexual partners among both genders. Family/personal-life stress and psychological distress influenced number of partnerships more strongly for women than for men (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]=1.58, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]=1.18-2.12 and AOR=1.41, 95% CI=1.14-1.76, respectively). After adjusting for potential confounders, we found that report of multiple sexual partners was significantly associated with report of an STI among men (AOR=5.87, 95% CI=3.70, 9.31 for five or more partners; AOR=2.35, 95% CI=1.59, 3.49 for 2-4 partners) and women (AOR=4.78, 95% CI=2.12, 10.80 for five or more partners; AOR=2.35, 95% CI=1.30, 4.25 for 2-4 partners). Conclusions Factors associated with report of increasing sexual partnerships and with report of an STI differed by gender. Gender-specific intervention strategies may be most effective in mitigating the factors that influence risky sexual behaviors among military personnel.

Sexually transmitted infections and sexual behaviour of deploying shipboard US military personnel: a cross-sectional analysis

“…Previous studies show concurrent sexual partnerships as a risk factor for STI transmission,18 so overlapping concurrent partnerships may increase STI transmission within the military setting. Unlike data collected from the 2008 Department of Defense (DoD) Health Related Behaviours Survey6 which showed a larger proportion of men than women with outside sexual partners (37.1% vs 17.5%), the current study found that equal proportions of men and women (17.3% vs 17.6%) reported outside sexual partners (although men more frequently reported three+ partners). The Health Related Behaviours Survey population differs from the current study population in that it was not designed to assess service members’ health at deployment onset, and only includes service members who are not currently deployed.…”

“…Other US military STI data are generally acquired from electronic health record databases1 12 or from large standardised US military health surveys that contain few questions on sexual risk behaviour 5 6 13. Other more comprehensive studies have been typically confined to a specific subpopulation, are less recent and/or were not designed to assess behaviour specifically across deployment cycles 7 8.…”

A comparison of self-reported sexual risk behaviours between US civilian and active duty military women

“…Women in the active duty U.S. military are exposed to an environment where a high prevalence of sexual risk behaviors such as binge drinking and multiple sexual partnerships exist (1–3), which may contribute to risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (4–6). In addition, a large proportion of active duty women are at a higher risk for STIs due to their demographic characteristics such as being of a younger age, unmarried, and of Black race/ethnicity (7), which are risk factors for STI acquisition in the general population (8).…”

Urologic Diseases in Korean Military Population: a 6-year Epidemiological Review of Medical Records

“…Those may affect urologic health of military soldiers, so that it can present unique epidemiology of the population. Although several reports of military population in other countries showed varying epidemiology of genitourinary diseases (1718), urologic health of the Korean military has not been examined. This study sought to see characteristics of urologic diseases in Korean military population with the electronic medical records database of military hospitals.…”