TY - JOUR
T1 - Marijuana Use, Sexual Behaviors, and Prevalent Sexually Transmitted Infections among Sexually Experienced Males and Females in the United States
T2 - Findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys
AU - Patel, Eshan U.
AU - White, Jodie L.
AU - Gaydos, Charlotte A.
AU - Quinn, Thomas C.
AU - Mehta, Shruti H.
AU - Tobian, Aaron A.R.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported in part by the Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and extramural support from the National Institutes of Health (R01AI120938 and R01AI128779 to A.A.R.T., U54EB007958 and U01068613 to C.A.G., and T32AI102623 to E.U.P.).
Publisher Copyright:
© Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
PY - 2020/10/1
Y1 - 2020/10/1
N2 - Background Several national guidelines consider illicit drug use as an indication for testing and/or counseling for some sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The legal and social landscape of marijuana use is changing, and its relevance with STI risk is unclear. Methods Sex-specific prevalence of T. vaginalis and/or C. trachomatis infection was examined by past-year marijuana use (no vs yes) among 2958 sexually experienced, 20- to 39-year-old participants of the 2013-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Prevalence ratios (PRs) with 95% confidence intervals [CIs] were estimated by Poisson regression. Adjusted PRs (aPR) were estimated following propensity score covariate-adjustment accounting for sociodemographics, alcohol use, injection drug use, depression, and age at sexual debut. Results Past-year marijuana use was reported by 27.3% and 36.3% of females and males, respectively. Male and female past-year marijuana users were more likely to have new and multiple sexual partners in the past year (P < 0.05). Past-year marijuana use was associated with prevalent C. trachomatis and/or T. vaginalis infection among females (7.4% vs. 2.9%; PR, 2.57 [95% CI, 1.62-4.07]) and males (4.0% vs. 1.1%; PR, 3.59 [95% CI, 1.96-6.58]), but this association was attenuated after propensity score covariate adjustment among females (aPR, 1.15 [95% CI, 0.72-1.83]) and males (aPR, 2.10 [95% CI, 0.88-5.02]). Additional adjustment for new or multiple sexual partners further attenuated the associations (aPRs, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.65-1.51] and 1.91 [95% CI, 0.82-4.47] for females and males, respectively). Conclusions Sexually transmitted infection prevalence was higher among persons with a past-year history of marijuana use; however, this association was not significant after accounting for measured confounders. Additional work is needed to characterize STI prevalence by the mode, duration, and frequency of marijuana use.
AB - Background Several national guidelines consider illicit drug use as an indication for testing and/or counseling for some sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The legal and social landscape of marijuana use is changing, and its relevance with STI risk is unclear. Methods Sex-specific prevalence of T. vaginalis and/or C. trachomatis infection was examined by past-year marijuana use (no vs yes) among 2958 sexually experienced, 20- to 39-year-old participants of the 2013-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Prevalence ratios (PRs) with 95% confidence intervals [CIs] were estimated by Poisson regression. Adjusted PRs (aPR) were estimated following propensity score covariate-adjustment accounting for sociodemographics, alcohol use, injection drug use, depression, and age at sexual debut. Results Past-year marijuana use was reported by 27.3% and 36.3% of females and males, respectively. Male and female past-year marijuana users were more likely to have new and multiple sexual partners in the past year (P < 0.05). Past-year marijuana use was associated with prevalent C. trachomatis and/or T. vaginalis infection among females (7.4% vs. 2.9%; PR, 2.57 [95% CI, 1.62-4.07]) and males (4.0% vs. 1.1%; PR, 3.59 [95% CI, 1.96-6.58]), but this association was attenuated after propensity score covariate adjustment among females (aPR, 1.15 [95% CI, 0.72-1.83]) and males (aPR, 2.10 [95% CI, 0.88-5.02]). Additional adjustment for new or multiple sexual partners further attenuated the associations (aPRs, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.65-1.51] and 1.91 [95% CI, 0.82-4.47] for females and males, respectively). Conclusions Sexually transmitted infection prevalence was higher among persons with a past-year history of marijuana use; however, this association was not significant after accounting for measured confounders. Additional work is needed to characterize STI prevalence by the mode, duration, and frequency of marijuana use.
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U2 - 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000001229
DO - 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000001229
M3 - Article
C2 - 32936602
AN - SCOPUS:85091129132
SN - 0148-5717
VL - 47
SP - 672
EP - 678
JO - Sexually transmitted diseases
JF - Sexually transmitted diseases
IS - 10
ER -