Sexually Transmitted Diseases in a specialized STD healthcare center: epidemiology and demographic profile from January 1999 to December 2009*

BACKGROUND Sexually Transmitted Diseases are still considered a serious public health problem in Brazil and worldwide. OBJECTIVE To examine Sexually Transmitted Diseases prevalence and the sickness impact profile of STDs in a reference health center specializing in the treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. METHOD We collected epidemiological, demographic, clinical and laboratory data from the medical records and interviews of 4,128 patients who had attended the center from January 1999 to December 2009. RESULTS Male patients outnumbered (76%) females (24%), Caucasians outnumbered (74.3%) those of mixed race (14.8%), blacks (10.8%) and Asians (0.1%). STD occurrence was higher in the 20-29 age group (46.2%) This population included 34.7% high school graduates, 8.7% college graduates and 0.8% illiterates. As for affective-sexual orientation, 86.5% were heterosexual, 7.8% homosexual and 5.5% bisexual. Regarding patients' sexual practices over the previous 30 days, 67.7% reported sexual intercourse with one person, 8.6% had had sex with two persons and 3.9%, with three or more people. The highest incidence of STD was condyloma acuminata, affecting 29.4% of all the patients, genital candidiasis 14.2%, and genital herpes 10.6%. Of the 44.3% who submitted to serologic testing for HIV detection 5% were positive, with a ratio of 6.8 males to 1 female. CONCLUSIONS STD prevalence remains high in Brazil and it is necessary to invest in early detection, prevention and treatment.