Sexually Transmitted Infections Vol. 88; No. 1: P. 63-68
Examining the associations between personal and partner
incarceration, high-risk sexual partnerships, and biologically
confirmed STI in an urban population were the goals of the
current study.
The researchers analyzed data from a probability survey of
people ages 15-35 in Baltimore to examine the prevalence of
personal and partner incarceration and its association with
measures of high-risk sexual partnerships, including current
STI, multiple partners, and partner concurrency.
In the study population, a history of incarceration was
common: 24.1 percent among the men, and 11.3 percent among the
women. For the 15.3 percent of women with an incarcerated
partner in the past year, the risk of current STI was
significantly increased (adjusted prevalence ratio=2.3, 95
percent confidence interval 1.5 to 3.5). Among men and women
who had been incarcerated or who had sex partners who had
recently been incarcerated, reports of five or more partners
in the past year and partner concurrency were
disproportionately high. The authors noted that these
associations remained robust independent of illicit drug use
and personal sociodemographic factors.
"Incarceration may contribute to STI risk by influencing
engagement in high-risk behaviors and by influencing contact
with partners who engage in risky behaviors and who hence have
elevated risk of infection," the researchers concluded.