Abstract
The present study assessed the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in 90 transsexual men (female-to-male transsexual persons) from southern Brazil. A retrospective review of the medical records of all transsexual men who visited an outpatient clinic in Rio Grande do Sul from 1998 to 2017 was performed. Although the sample had a high prevalence of risk factors for contracting STIs, such as drug use, one-third of the participants had never been tested for STIs and, when screened, it was mostly for HIV, but not for syphilis or other STIs. Based only on laboratory-tested transsexual men, the prevalence of syphilis and hepatitis C was 3.4% and 1.6%, respectively, which is higher than the general population. It is clear that health professionals need to broaden their understanding of transsexual men, acknowledging STIs as a possible diagnosis.
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The study was financially supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, National Council for the Improvement of Higher Education and Research and Events Incentive Fund of Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre.
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Fontanari, A.M.V., Vianna, L.L., Schneider, M. et al. A Retrospective Review of Medical Records of Laboratory-Tested Sexually Transmitted Infections of Transsexual Men from Southern Brazil. Arch Sex Behav 48, 1573–1579 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-1395-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-1395-8