Condom Use to Prevent Incident STDs

TLDR

Studies of sexual behavior and HIV prevention interventions rely on self‑report, yet validation of self‑reported condom use has not been previously reported in an urban high‑risk population. The study aimed to validate self‑reported condom use measures in an urban high‑risk population. A prospective cohort of 598 participants from Baltimore STI clinics completed a questionnaire on HIV risk, sexual history, and condom use over the prior 30 days, underwent clinical STI testing at enrollment, and repeated the same assessments at a 3‑month follow‑up. Among 598 participants, 21% reported always using condoms, yet 21% experienced new STDs, and condom use frequency was not associated with lower incidence, indicating substantial reporting bias in self‑reported measures.

Abstract

Studies of sexual behavior and of interventions designed to reduce human immunodeficiency virus risk usually depend on self-report. Validation of self-reported condom use measures has not been previously reported in an urban population at high risk for sexually transmitted diseases and human immunodeficiency virus.A prospective cohort study was performed in subjects recruited from sexually transmitted disease clinics in Baltimore. At enrollment, a questionnaire was administered that assessed human immunodeficiency virus risk factors and sexually transmitted disease history, and used a retrospective calendar to assess sexual events and condom use over the previous 30 days. Clinical evaluation was performed for sexually transmitted diseases. At follow-up 3 months later, the same procedures were repeated. Incident sexually transmitted diseases at follow-up were defined as new culture or serologically documented diagnoses of gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, or trichomoniasis.In the 323 male and 275 female (total = 598) subjects who completed a follow-up visit, 21% reported using condoms for every act of sexual intercourse over the previous 30 days, 21% reported occasionally using condoms, and 59% reported not using condoms. At follow-up, 21% of subjects had new incident gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, or trichomoniasis. Fifteen percent of the men who were "always" condom users had incident sexually transmitted diseases compared with 15.3% of "never users;" 23.5% of women who were "always" users had incident sexually transmitted diseases compared with 26.8% of "never" users.In this high-risk population, self-reported condom use is not associated with lower sexually transmitted disease incidence. This finding suggests that self-reported condom use measures, even in a research setting, may be subject to substantial reporting bias.