AN EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDY OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES ON A UNIVERSITY CAMPUS1

Abstract

Drusin, L. M. (New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, New York, N.Y. 10021), J. Magagna, K. Yano and A. B. Ley. An epidemiologic study of sexually transmitted diseases on a university campus. Am J Epidemiol 100: 8–19, 1974.—People between the ages of 15 and 29 account for the majority of reported cases of syphilis and gonorrhea in the United States. Although university students fall within this age range it is not known whether this group does in fact have a high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases. To evaluate this problem, a questionnaire was mailed to all 15, 563 students registered at Cornell University's Ithaca campus during the spring of 1972. The response rate was 58.6%. Although the number of venereal disease cases among females was too small to evaluate, 36 males reported having gonorrhea and/or syphilis during the six-month study period (annual incidence in males at risk 1.8%). The male cases were examined for an association with selected sociodemographic and sexual behavior characteristics. The two variables most closely associated with gonorrhea and syphilis were an increasing number of sexual partners and participation in rectal intercourse.