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Gap between Consecutive Sexual Partnerships and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among STI Clinic Patients in St Petersburg, Russia

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Abstract

We conducted a cross-sectional study to determine whether the time between two consecutive sexual partnerships (gap) is associated with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Russia. A self-administered questionnaire was administered to STI clinic patients in St. Petersburg and participant’s STI data at the time of enrollment in the study was collected from medical charts. The length of the gap between partnerships was divided into four categories: overlapping (0 or negative gap), short gaps (1–90 days), mid-length gaps (91–365 days), and long gaps (366 days or more). Among the 659 respondents, 22.6% had overlapping partnerships, and 13.7, 4.2, and 59.5% had short, mid-length and long gaps, respectively. Short gaps (OR 2.34; 95% CI 1.38–3.95), but not overlapping relationships, were independently associated with STIs when contrasted against long term gaps. HIV prevention programs for Russian STI clinic patients should therefore focus also on prolonging the gap between consecutive, monogamous sexual partnerships.

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Acknowledgments

Funding source: This work was supported by grant number RO3 DA020384 (PI: N. Abdala) from the National Institute of Drug Abuse. The content of this study is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Drug Abuse or the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, 60 College Street, New Haven, CT, 06520-8034, USA

    Weihai Zhan & Nadia Abdala

  2. The Biomedical Center, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

    Tatiana V. Krasnoselskikh & Andrei P. Kozlov

  3. Sexually Transmitted Disease Department of the Kalininsky District Dispensary for Skin and Venereal Diseases, St Petersburg, Russian Federation

    Sergei Golovanov

Authors
  1. Weihai Zhan
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  2. Tatiana V. Krasnoselskikh
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  3. Sergei Golovanov
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  4. Andrei P. Kozlov
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  5. Nadia Abdala
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nadia Abdala.

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Zhan, W., Krasnoselskikh, T.V., Golovanov, S. et al. Gap between Consecutive Sexual Partnerships and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among STI Clinic Patients in St Petersburg, Russia. AIDS Behav 16, 334–339 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-011-9932-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-011-9932-z

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