Rates of primary and secondary syphilis in women more than doubled between 2012 and 2016 and the rate of the disease in infants increased 86.9. A new national case analysis by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sheds light on reported risk behaviors that may be contributing to these alarming trends. Data for the study were from the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. The case reports in the system included information on demographics, stage of syphilis (primary, secondary, early-latent, or late-latent cases) and pregnancy status but not prenatal care, treatment, or pregnancy outcome. The authors analyzed demographic and risk behavior data on all women with syphilis from all 50 states and the District of Columbia from 2012 to 2016. Risk behavior included high-risk sexual behaviors (prior sexually transmitted disease STD; more than one sex partner; sex while intoxicated; anonymous sex partner; sex for drugs or money, sex with persons known to inject drugs; sex with gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men), drug-related risk factors, history of incarceration, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Information on most risk factors as collected with values of "yes," "no," "missing," or "unknown."
展开▼
