Skip to main content
Public Health Reports logoLink to Public Health Reports
. 1989 Nov-Dec;104(6):560–565.

The impact of sexually transmitted diseases on minority populations.

J S Moran 1, S O Aral 1, W C Jenkins 1, T A Peterman 1, E R Alexander 1
PMCID: PMC1580158  PMID: 2511588

Abstract

Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) are more prevalent among some minority populations in the United States than they are among the white majority. Primary and secondary syphilis occurs 45 times as often among non-Hispanic blacks as among non-Hispanic whites and 13 times as often among Hispanics as among non-Hispanic whites, according to morbidity reports received in 1988 by the Centers for Disease Control. Gonorrhea is reported more commonly among some minorities, with 1988 rates per 100,000 population being 54 for whites, 1,801 for blacks, and 201 for Hispanics. The reasons for the higher incidence of STD among some minorities are unknown. Data on racial differences in behavior and disease susceptibility are meager and do not account for the observed differences. Poverty, which is more common among some minorities than among the white majority, is closely associated with the prevalence of STD and may be a link between membership in a minority population and an increased risk.

Full text

PDF
560

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alter M. J., Ahtone J., Weisfuse I., Starko K., Vacalis T. D., Maynard J. E. Hepatitis B virus transmission between heterosexuals. JAMA. 1986 Sep 12;256(10):1307–1310. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Alter M. J., Mares A., Hadler S. C., Maynard J. E. The effect of underreporting on the apparent incidence and epidemiology of acute viral hepatitis. Am J Epidemiol. 1987 Jan;125(1):133–139. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114496. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Aral S. O., Mosher W. D., Cates W., Jr Self-reported pelvic inflammatory disease in the US: a common occurrence. Am J Public Health. 1985 Oct;75(10):1216–1218. doi: 10.2105/ajph.75.10.1216. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bakeman R., McCray E., Lumb J. R., Jackson R. E., Whitley P. N. The incidence of AIDS among blacks and Hispanics. J Natl Med Assoc. 1987 Sep;79(9):921–928. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Darrow W. W. Social stratification, sexual behavior, and the sexually transmitted diseases. Sex Transm Dis. 1979 Jul-Sep;6(3):228–230. doi: 10.1097/00007435-197907000-00011. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Darrow W. W. Veneral infections in three ethnic groups in Sacramento. Am J Public Health. 1976 May;66(5):446–450. doi: 10.2105/ajph.66.5.446. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dembert M. L., Shaffer R. A., Baugh N. L., Berg S. W., Zajdowicz T. Epidemiology of viral hepatitis among US Navy and Marine Corps personnel, 1984-85. Am J Public Health. 1987 Nov;77(11):1446–1447. doi: 10.2105/ajph.77.11.1446. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Foster M. T., Jr, Labrum A. H. Relation of infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae to ABO blood groups. J Infect Dis. 1976 Mar;133(3):329–330. doi: 10.1093/infdis/133.3.329. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Haan M., Kaplan G. A., Camacho T. Poverty and health. Prospective evidence from the Alameda County Study. Am J Epidemiol. 1987 Jun;125(6):989–998. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114637. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hahn R. A., Magder L. S., Aral S. O., Johnson R. E., Larsen S. A. Race and the prevalence of syphilis seroreactivity in the United States population: a national sero-epidemiologic study. Am J Public Health. 1989 Apr;79(4):467–470. doi: 10.2105/ajph.79.4.467. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hooper R. R., Reynolds G. H., Jones O. G., Zaidi A., Wiesner P. J., Latimer K. P., Lester A., Campbell A. F., Harrison W. O., Karney W. W. Cohort study of venereal disease. I: the risk of gonorrhea transmission from infected women to men. Am J Epidemiol. 1978 Aug;108(2):136–144. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112597. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hull H. F., Bettinger C. J., Gallaher M. M., Keller N. M., Wilson J., Mertz G. J. Comparison of HIV-antibody prevalence in patients consenting to and declining HIV-antibody testing in an STD clinic. JAMA. 1988 Aug 19;260(7):935–938. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Johnson R. E., Nahmias A. J., Magder L. S., Lee F. K., Brooks C. A., Snowden C. B. A seroepidemiologic survey of the prevalence of herpes simplex virus type 2 infection in the United States. N Engl J Med. 1989 Jul 6;321(1):7–12. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198907063210102. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Kramer M. A., Aral S. O., Curran J. W. Self-reported behavior patterns of patients attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic. Am J Public Health. 1980 Sep;70(9):997–1000. doi: 10.2105/ajph.70.9.997. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. McCormack W. M., Rosner B., McComb D. E., Evrard J. R., Zinner S. H. Infection with Chlamydia trachomatis in female college students. Am J Epidemiol. 1985 Jan;121(1):107–115. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113971. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Morton W. E., Horton H. B., Baker H. W. Effects of socioeconomic status on incidences of three sexually transmitted diseases. Sex Transm Dis. 1979 Jul-Sep;6(3):206–210. doi: 10.1097/00007435-197907000-00004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Quinn T. C., Glasser D., Cannon R. O., Matuszak D. L., Dunning R. W., Kline R. L., Campbell C. H., Israel E., Fauci A. S., Hook E. W., 3rd Human immunodeficiency virus infection among patients attending clinics for sexually transmitted diseases. N Engl J Med. 1988 Jan 28;318(4):197–203. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198801283180401. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Rabkin C. S., Thomas P. A., Jaffe H. W., Schultz S. Prevalence of antibody to HTLV-III/LAV in a population attending a sexually transmitted diseases clinic. Sex Transm Dis. 1987 Jan-Mar;14(1):48–51. doi: 10.1097/00007435-198701000-00011. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Rothenberg R., Bross D. C., Vernon T. M. Reporting of gonorrhea by private physicians: a behavioral study. Am J Public Health. 1980 Sep;70(9):983–986. doi: 10.2105/ajph.70.9.983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Washington A. E., Cates W., Jr, Zaidi A. A. Hospitalizations for pelvic inflammatory disease. Epidemiology and trends in the United States, 1975 to 1981. JAMA. 1984 May 18;251(19):2529–2533. doi: 10.1001/jama.251.19.2529. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Public Health Reports are provided here courtesy of SAGE Publications

RESOURCES