Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33081743›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2020

Giving syphilis and gonorrhea to friends: using in-person friendship networks to find additional cases of gonorrhea and syphilis.

Janet E Rosenbaum, Jacky Jennings, Jonathan M Ellen, Laurel M Borkovic, Jo-Ann Scott, Charleen Wylie, Anne Rompalo

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 22% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. The Impact of Technology on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Needs.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Janet E RosenbaumDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, 450 Clarkson Ave, Brooklyn, NY, USA. janet.rosenbaum@downstate.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9796-513X
Jacky JenningsDepartment of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Jonathan M EllenDepartment of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Laurel M BorkovicDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Jo-Ann ScottDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Charleen WylieDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Anne RompaloDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Johns Hopkins University · USSUNY Downstate Health Sciences University · US

Funding

Johns Hopkins Training Program In STIsT32AI050056 · NIAID · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI ELLEN, JONATHAN M. · 2001 to 2015
$3.4M
HIV PREVENTION NETWORK INTERVENTION WITH STD PATIENTSR01HD033982 · NICHD · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI LATKIN, CARL A · 1996 to 1999
–
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 1R01HD33982National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention 5R30PS000259-04National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention T32-AI050056NCHHSTP CDC HHS R30 PS000259NIAID NIH HHS T32 AI050056
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSyphilis and gonorrhea reached an all-time high in 2018. The resurgence of syphilis and gonorrhea requires innovative methods of sexual contact tracing that encourage disclosure of same-sex sexual contacts that might otherwise be suppressed. Over 75% of Grindr mobile phone application users report seeking "friendship," so this study asked people diagnosed with syphilis and gonorrhea to identify their friends.

methodsPatients at the two Baltimore sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinics and the Baltimore City Health Department were asked 12 questions to elicit members of their friendship networks before eliciting sexual networks. The study included 353 index cases and 172 friendship contacts, yielding a friendship network of 331 non-isolates (n = 331) and sexual-only network of 140 non-isolates. The data were plotted and analyzed using exponential family random graph analysis.

resultsEliciting respondents' in-person social contacts yielded 12 syphilis cases and 6 gonorrhea cases in addition to the 16 syphilis cases and 4 gonorrhea cases that would have been found with sexual contacts alone. Syphilis is clustered within sexual (odds ratio = 2.2, 95% confidence interval (1.36, 3.66)) and social contacts (OR = 1.31, 95% CI (1.02, 1.68)). Gonorrhea is clustered within reported social (OR = 1.56, 95% CI (1.22, 2.00)) but not sexual contacts (OR = 0.98, 95% CI (0.62, 1.53)).

conclusionsEliciting friendship networks of people diagnosed with syphilis and gonorrhea may find members of their sexual networks, drug use networks, or people of similar STI risk. Friendship networks include more diagnosed cases of syphilis and gonorrhea than sexual networks alone, especially among populations with many non-disclosing men who have sex with men (MSM) and women who have sex with women (WSW). Future research should evaluate whether this friendship network method of contact tracing can be implemented by adapting automated mobile phone COVID-19 contact tracing protocols, if these COVID-19 contact tracing methods are able to maintain anonymity and public trust.

Indexed as

FriendsSocial NetworkingAdolescentAdultBaltimoreContact TracingDisclosureFemaleGonorrheaHumansMaleMiddle AgedSexual BehaviorSyphilisYoung AdultBisexualityContact tracingGonorrheaLabelingPartner notificationSelf-conceptSexual orientationSyphilis

Identifiers

PMID33081743
PMCPMC7575333
OpenAlexW3094183325

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.