Multivariate analysis of data from two nationally representative surveys of adult men and women indicates that the likelihood of a self-reported sexually transmitted disease (STD) infection varies by gender, race and socioeconomic status, even after accounting for differences in sexual and health care behaviors. Women and black respondents are more than three times as likely to report an STD infection as men and white respondents; men and women with 12 or fewer years of education are about 30% less likely than those with more schooling to report having had an STD. Income, welfare status and access to health care have no significant association with self-reported STD incidence, but sexual behavior is strongly related. Men and women who have engaged in anal intercourse, have paid for sex or have had one-night stands are significantly more likely than those who avoid these behaviors to report an STD. Further, the likelihood of an STD dramatically increases with the lifetime number of sex partners reported: Compared with men and women who have had only one partner, those who report 2-3 partners are five times as likely to have had an STD; the odds are as high as 31:1 for those who report 16 or more partners.
PIP: Multivariate analysis of data from two nationally representative surveys of adult men and women in the US indicate that the likelihood of a self-reported sexually transmitted disease (STD) infection varies by gender, race and socioeconomic status, even after accounting for differences in sexual and health care behaviors. The data used in this analysis were obtained from the National Survey of Men (NSM) and the National Survey of Women (NSW), both conducted in 1991. The NSM was based on a multistage, stratified, clustered, disproportionate area probability sample of households in the contiguous United States. The sample consisted of 20-39 year old men. In-person interviews were conducted with 3321 men, 70% of the eligible sample. The NSW sample, consisting of 1669 women 20-37 years old comprised 2 subsamples, both based on a multistage, stratified, clustered area probability design. The combined sample used in this analysis included 3321 men (1238 Blacks and 2083 members of other racial groups) and 1669 women (728 Blacks and 941 others). A dichotomous measure of whether or not the respondent has ever had an STD was the principal variable. Women and Black respondents were more than 3 times as likely to report an STD infection as men and White respondents (p 0.01); men and women with 12 or fewer years of education were about 30% less likely than those with more schooling to report having had an STD. Men and women who had engaged in anal intercourse, had paid for sex, or had had one-night stands were significantly more likely than those who avoided these behaviors to report an STD (p 0.01). Additionally, the likelihood of an STD dramatically increased with the lifetime number of sex partners reported: compared with men and women who had had only 1 partner those who reported 2-3 partners were 5 times as likely to have had an STD; the odds were as high as 31:1 for those who reported 16 or more partners.