Visits to Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinics in Italy from January 2016 to November 2021: A Multicenter, Retrospective Study

Abstract

There is no evidence of seasonal variation in visits to clinics dedicated to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Italy, nor of changes after the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. An observational, retrospective, multicentric study was conducted to record and analyze all the visits to the STI clinics of the Dermatology Units of the University Hospitals of Ferrara and Bologna and of the Infectious Disease Unit of Ferrara, Italy, between January 2016 and October 2021. Overall, 11.733 visits were registered over a 70-month study period (63.7% males, mean age 34.5 ± 12.8 yrs). The mean number of monthly visits significantly decreased from the advent of the pandemic (136) compared to before (177). In the pre-pandemic period, visits to STI clinics increased in the autumn/winter months when compared to spring/summer, while the trend was the opposite in the pandemic period. Thus, during the pandemic, both an overall significant reduction in visits to STI clinics and a reversal in their seasonality were observed. These trends affected males and females equally. The marked decrease, mostly found in the pandemic winter months, can be linked to the “lockdown”/self-isolation ordinances and social distancing measures during the colder months, coinciding with the spread of the COVID-19 infection, which limited the opportunities for meeting and socializing.