Factors Associated with Self-reported STDs: Data from a National Survey

US Centers for Disease Control staff analyzed 1988 data on 8450 women aged 15-44 years to determine the value of national survey data on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and to examine what factors are associated with self-reported STDs. 7.4% of all respondents reported that they currently had an STD genital warts being the most common (3.6%). 55.5% of all women in the survey who had ever had gonorrhea were whites yet 1990 national surveillance data showed that only 19.1% of all such gonorrhea cases were white. This suggests that high socioeconomic groups using private health care are underrepresented in the surveillance system. Reporting experience with gonorrhea was positively associated with multiple partners (odds ratio [OR] = 7.5) age at first intercourse less than 15 (OR = 2) being black (OR = 2.6) having no religion or religion other than Catholic or Protestant (OR = 1.9) income less than 150% of poverty line (OR = 1.8) perceived risk of AIDS (OR = 1.7) and public family planning visit in the last year (OR = 2.7). Reporting experience with gonorrhea was inversely related with receiving contraception education in the last 12 months (OR = 0.6) and living in rural area (OR = 0.5) or in the Midwest (OR = 0.6). Even though chlamydia infection is the most common STD in the US few respondents (36.6%) knew about chlamydia. Women with less than high school education were less likely to report chlamydia infection (15.9% vs. 53.2% for more than high school education; OR = 0.4) suggesting that knowledge affected reporting. Predictors of chlamydia reporting were multiple partners (OR = 3.2-3.4) a family planning visit in the last year (OR = 3) and had STD education (OR = 1.7). The researchers suspected that women in the survey underreported STD experience. Research in developing questions to measure STD experience treatment and source of care on surveys would increase the understanding of STDs in the national population.