Concurrent sexual partnerships and sexually transmitted diseases in Russia.

BACKGROUND: Sexual concurrency is associated with higher prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including HIV. However, most studies have focused only on the concurrency of the individual participant (individual concurrency) and not on concurrency of their sexual partners (partner concurrency). Furthermore, limited concurrency information is available in Russia where HIV epidemic is growing rapidly. We therefore examine the prevalence and correlates of individual and partner concurrency, and determine whether either type of concurrency is associated with diagnosed STDs among STD clinic attendees in St. Petersburg, Russia. METHODS: In total, 799 attendees were recruited into a cross-sectional study between 2006 and 2008. A questionnaire collected information on demographics, medical history, sexual behaviors, and up to 3 sexual partners during the preceding year. RESULTS: The prevalence of individual and partner concurrency was 24.7% and 45.4%, respectively. Both were correlated with marital status, weekly alcohol consumption, age at first sex, and number of lifetime sexual partners. Partner concurrency was significantly associated with diagnosed STDs (odds ratio = 2.06; 95% confidence interval = 1.35-3.15). No significant association between individual concurrency and STDs was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Partner concurrency, not individual concurrency, is independently associated with increased odds of having an STD in the studied population.