Sexually Transmitted Infections & Sexual Behavior of Deploying Shipboard US Military Personnel

OBJECTIVES:

Sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevalence and risk behaviour may differ at different phases of deployment. We examined STI prevalence and sexual behaviour in the predeployment time period (12 months prior) among recently deployed shipboard US Navy and Marine Corps military personnel.

METHODS:

Data were collected from 1938 male and 515 female service members through an anonymous, self-completed survey assessing sexual behaviours and STI acquisition characteristics in the past 12 months. Cross-sectional sex-stratified descriptive statistics are reported.

RESULTS:

Overall, 67% (n=1262/1896) reported last sex with a military beneficiary (spouse, n=931, non-spouse service member, n=331). Among those with a sexual partner outside their primary partnership, 24% (n=90/373) reported using a condom the last time they had sex and 30% (n=72/243) reported their outside partner was a service member. In total, 90% (n=210/233) reported acquiring their most recent STI in the USA (88%, n=126/143 among those reporting ≥1 deployments and an STI ≥1 year ago) and a significantly higher proportion (p<0.01) of women than men acquired the STI from their regular partner (54% vs 21%) and/or a service member (50% vs 26%).

CONCLUSIONS:

Findings suggest a complex sexual network among service members and military beneficiaries. Findings may extend to other mobile civilian and military populations. Data suggest most STI transmission within the shipboard community may occur in local versus foreign ports but analyses from later time points in deployment are needed. These data may inform more effective STI prevention interventions.

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By:  Harbertson J1, Scott PT2, Moore J3, Wolf M3, Morris J3, Thrasher S3, D'Onofrio M2, Grillo MP4, Jacobs MB4, Tran BR4, Tian J5, Ito SI4, McAnany J4, Michael N2,Hale BR6.

• 1US Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland, USA Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP), Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California, USA.
• 2US Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
• 3Third Fleet, US Navy, San Diego, California, USA.
• 4Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP), Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California, USA.
• 5US Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
• 6Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP), Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California, USA Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California School of Medicine, San Diego, California, USA. 

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