Dataset Information

Trends in pre-military sexually transmitted infections and associated risk behaviours in Canadian Armed Forces recruits.

ABSTRACT: Background:Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have historically been problematic for militaries. Recent reports indicating that rates of STIs among young male Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members are higher than civilians prompted a need to better understand CAF members' reported rates of STIs and their behavioural risk factors for STIs. This study examined the prevalence of self-reported pre-military sexual behaviours (i.e. number of sexual partners and frequency of condom use) and history of a STI diagnosis among CAF recruits attending basic military training using data collected from the Recruit Health Questionnaire. Methods:Data came from 50,603 recruits who participated in the survey between 2003 and 2018 (84.9% male, 78.6% Non-Commissioned Member candidates, 64.9% aged between 17 and 24 years). Results:Among sexually active recruits, the proportions who had more than one sexual partner in the previous year increased from 30.5% in 2003 (95% CI, 27.8-33.4) to 35.5% in 2018 (95% CI, 34.0-37.0). Of recruits who were not in an exclusive relationship at the time, the proportions who reported always using a condom decreased from 50.8% in 2003 (95% CI, 46.4-55.1) to 40.2% in 2018 (95% CI, 38.3-42.2). Overall, 5.5% (95% CI, 5.3-5.7) reported ever having received a STI diagnosis. Demographic differences by age and sex were also found. Conclusion:These observations provide an indication of the baseline, pre-enlistment STI risk behaviours, and STI history among CAF recruits, and may provide insight into avenues for targeted interventions and health promotion programming, such as education and screening initiatives.

SUBMITTER: Edge HM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7556204 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Trends in pre-military sexually transmitted infections and associated risk behaviours in Canadian Armed Forces recruits.

Edge Heather McCuaig HM

Canada communicable disease report = Releve des maladies transmissibles au Canada 20200903 9

<h4>Background</h4>Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have historically been problematic for militaries. Recent reports indicating that rates of STIs among young male Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members are higher than civilians prompted a need to better understand CAF members' reported rates of STIs and their behavioural risk factors for STIs. This study examined the prevalence of self-reported pre-military sexual behaviours (i.e. number of sexual partners and frequency of condom use) and h ...[more]

PMID: 33104083

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Project description:BackgroundSexually transmitted infections (STIs) pose a significant public health challenge in the United States. Traditional surveillance systems are adversely affected by data quality issues, underreporting of cases, and reporting delays, resulting in missed prevention opportunities to respond to trends in disease prevalence. Search engine data can potentially facilitate an efficient and economical enhancement to surveillance reporting systems established for STIs.ObjectiveWe aimed to develop and train a predictive model using reported STI case data from Chicago, Illinois, and to investigate the model's predictive capacity, timeliness, and ability to target interventions to subpopulations using Google Trends data.MethodsDeidentified STI case data for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and primary and secondary syphilis from 2011-2017 were obtained from the Chicago Department of Public Health. The data set included race/ethnicity, age, and birth sex. Google Correlate was used to identify the top 100 correlated search terms with "STD symptoms," and an autocrawler was established using Google Health Application Programming Interface to collect the search volume for each term. Elastic net regression was used to evaluate prediction accuracy, and cross-correlation analysis was used to identify timeliness of prediction. Subgroup elastic net regression analysis was performed for race, sex, and age.ResultsFor gonorrhea and chlamydia, actual and predicted STI values correlated moderately in 2011 (chlamydia: r=0.65; gonorrhea: r=0.72) but correlated highly (chlamydia: r=0.90; gonorrhea: r=0.94) from 2012 to 2017. However, for primary and secondary syphilis, the high correlation was observed only for 2012 (r=0.79), 2013 (r=0.77), 2016 (0.80), and 2017 (r=0.84), with 2011, 2014, and 2015 showing moderate correlations (r=0.55-0.70). Model performance was the most accurate (highest correlation and lowest mean absolute error) for gonorrhea. Subgroup analyses improved model fit across disease and year. Regression models using search terms selected from the cross-correlation analysis improved the prediction accuracy and timeliness across diseases and years.ConclusionsIntegrating nowcasting with Google Trends in surveillance activities can potentially enhance the prediction and timeliness of outbreak detection and response as well as target interventions to subpopulations. Future studies should prospectively examine the utility of Google Trends applied to STI surveillance and response.

Dataset Information

Trends in pre-military sexually transmitted infections and associated risk behaviours in Canadian Armed Forces recruits.

Publications

Trends in pre-military sexually transmitted infections and associated risk behaviours in Canadian Armed Forces recruits.

Similar Datasets

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