Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34791363›Full record

ArticleMilitary medicine2023

The Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections and Sociosexual Behaviors in the South Korean Military Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Tae Hoon Oh, Jong Hyun Baeck, Seung Ryeol Lee, Dong Soo Park, Young Dong Yu

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
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Article in Military medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 26% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Tae Hoon OhDepartment of Urology, College of Medicine, CHA University, Bundang CHA Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
Jong Hyun BaeckDepartment of Urology, College of Medicine, CHA University, Bundang CHA Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
Seung Ryeol LeeDepartment of Urology, College of Medicine, CHA University, Bundang CHA Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
Dong Soo ParkDepartment of Urology, College of Medicine, CHA University, Bundang CHA Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
Young Dong YuDepartment of Urology, College of Medicine, CHA University, Bundang CHA Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.ORCID 0000-0002-2696-7004
CHA University · KRArmed Forces Capital Hospital · KR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThis study evaluated the epidemiological factors of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among South Korean troops including the prevalence, therapeutic methods, and sexual risk behaviors. MATERIAL AND

methodsThe medical records of the STIs diagnosed troops at the Armed Forces Capital Hospital (AFCH) for 36 months (between January 2018 and December 2020) were retrospectively reviewed. The data collection for the study began after obtaining research approvals from the institutional ethics committee of AFCH. The patients were classified into two subgroups, pre-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and COVID-19 groups. The clinical parameters of the patients including STI-related symptoms and underlying diseases were analyzed. The sociosexual conduct of the two study groups was evaluated and compared by using a survey questionnaire.

resultsOverall, 138 STI patients with mean age of 21.2 years were included (pre-COVID-19: 106 patients/COVID-19: 32 patients). 32.6% of the patients received college education before the military service. Regarding previous history of STIs, 24 patients (17.4%) had previous experience of STIs, which occurred before participation in the current study. Initial urine analysis results showed that 95 (68.8%) and 79 patients (57.2%) showed pyuria and bacteriuria, respectively. Neisseria gonorrhoeae (29.7%) was the most commonly identified pathogen. Each pathogen was treated with the therapies recommended by the current treatment guidelines, and no patient showed any recurrence of the disease during follow-up. Both pre-COVID-19 (91.5%) and COVID-19 (93.8%) groups showed high rates of binge drinking during off-duty. The pre-COVID-19 group had a greater number of patients (21.7%) having multiple sex partners (during the past 12 months) than the COVID-19 group (15.6%). The COVID-19 group had 18.8% of the troops involved in sexual activity even after the onset of STI-related clinical symptoms, whereas the rate was significantly higher than 2.8% of the pre-COVID-19 group (P = .001). The COVID-19 groups showed a significantly higher number of patients (four patients, 12.5%) experiencing suicidal ideation than the pre-COVID-19 group (two patients, 1.9%) (P = .010). Both groups showed <40% of condom use rates at the last sexual intercourse.

conclusionThe soldiers with STIs showed high rates of binge alcohol consumption, while the rates of engaging in safe sex by using condoms are markedly low. Although the COVID-19 group was under influence of social distancing and military base lockdown, the soldiers' sociosexual conduct was not significantly different in the pre-COVID-19 group. The importance of education on alcohol misuse and safe sexual relationships should be taken more seriously within the military.

Indexed as

COVID-19Military PersonnelSexually Transmitted DiseasesAdultCommunicable Disease ControlHumansPandemicsPrevalenceRepublic of KoreaRetrospective StudiesRisk-TakingSexual BehaviorYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID34791363
PMCPMC8690001
OpenAlexW3214676156

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.