Sexually Transmitted Infections & First Sexual Intercourse Age in Adolescents: The Nationwide Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study
Abstract
INTRODUCTION:
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are
major causes of medical and psychological problems globally, while adolescents
in South Korea have recently shown rapid changes in sexual behaviors.
AIMS:
We aimed to examine the association
between the age of first sexual intercourse and the experience of STIs among
adolescents. Additionally, in which specific time period would more likely to
get infected from sexual intercourse.
METHODS:
We used data from the 2007-2013 Korea
Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. Only adolescents with sexual intercourse
experience (N = 22,381) were included, and multiple logistic regression
analysis was performed.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
One dichotomized measure and one continuous
measure were assessed: (i) STIs experience (defined as having had STIs); and
(ii) association between STIs experience and absolute age gap (defined as
temporal differences between secondary sexual character emergence age and first
sexual intercourse age).
RESULTS:
Approximately 7.4% of boys and 7.5% of
girls reported had STI. For both boys and girls, the chance of experiencing
STIs increased as the age of first sexual intercourse decreased (boys: before
elementary school [age 7 or under]: odds ratio [OR] = 10.81, first grade [age 7
or 8]: OR = 4.44, second grade [age 8 or 9]: OR = 8.90, fourth grade [age 10 or
11]: OR = 7.20, ninth grade [age 15 or 16]: OR = 2.31; girls: before elementary
school: OR = 18.09, first grade: OR = 7.26, second grade: OR = 7.12, fourth
grade: OR = 8.93, ninth grade: OR = 2.74). The association between the absolute
age gap and STI experience was examined additionally (boys: OR = 0.93, girls:
OR = 0.87).
CONCLUSIONS:
This study shows that earlier initiation
of sexual intercourse increases the odds of experiencing STIs. Also as the age
gap gets shorter, the odds of experiencing STIs increase. Our study suggests
that it is important to consider the time period of first sexual intercourse
and to reinforce a monitoring system along with the development of other
preventive strategies.
- 1Department of Health Policy and Management, Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
- 2Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
- 3Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
- 4Department of Hospital Management, Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
- 5Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
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