• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.237-244
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• 2020

Currently, sexually transmitted diseases (STD) are referred to as "sexually transmitted infections" (STIs) in the sense of including asymptomatic infections. STIs have a range of interrelationships. This study used the STI defined by the Minister of Health and Welfare of the Republic of Korea, and targeted syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia infection, chancroid, genital herpes simplex, condyloma, human papillomavirus, and non-gonococcal urethritis. The factors were characterized by identifying multiple and simultaneous STIs. This study used the data from the laboratory information system of a consigned inspection institution located in Seoul from 2014 to 2019. In this study, multiple STIs were identified as overlapping STIs of a double infectious source (10 types) and multiple STIs of a third infectious source (6 types). Among the 16 types of multiple STIs, U. urealyticum (9 types), HSV-2 (8 types), C. trachomatis (7 types), HPV 6, 11 (7 types), N. gonorrhoeae (6 types), and T. pallidum (1 type) were included. Therefore, additional research on interrelationship studies, such as STIs, which has the highest proportion of multiple STIs, will be necessary.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.431-439
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• 2017

Purpose: This study aims to examine the factors influencing sexually transmitted infection (STI) in Korean adolescents 12 to 18 years. Methods: Using statistics from 10-11th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, secondary analysis was conducted. The study sample consisted of 4,886 boys and 1,998 girls who had reported initiating sexual intercourse. Results: The proportion of adolescents who had a sexually transmitted infection was 8.8% of boys and 11.0% of girls. In multiple regression analysis, grade, smoking, first intercourse before middle school, intercourse after drinking alcohol, living without family, large amounts of pocket money were factors associated with sexually transmitted infection for both boys and girls. Use of condom is related to STI contraction of boys only. Formal sex education was not associated with reducing risk of STI. Conclusion: The results of this study show the factors associated with STI among Korean adolescents. Gender-related effective interventions should be taken into consideration in school-based sex education programs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.70-78
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• 2018

Purpose: This study investigated the predictors of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) among female teenagers in Korea who have had intercourse at least once. Methods: This study is based on the 12th Korea Youth Behavior Web-based Survey conducted in April 2016. Data were collected from 798 middle schools and high schools nationwide in Korea and 65,528 students participated. Among the participants, the subjects of this study were 537 female high school students (Grade 10~12). The data were analyzed through complex samples multiple logistic regression using SPSS statistics 22. Results: Among the 537 female adolescents, 11.9% replied they had experienced STI. The predictors of STI among the subjects were 'age at first intercourse' and 'sexual intercourse after drinking'. The risk of STI was lower in the middle (OR=0.26, 95% CI=0.10~0.64) and high school (OR=0.11, 95% CI=0.04~0.27) age groups than those who had their first sexual intercourse at an elementary school age. The sexual intercourse after drinking group had a higher risk of STI, compared to the no sexual relation after drinking group (OR=2.54, 95% CI=1.28~5.07). Conclusion: Practical sex education programs should begin from the elementary stage in order to protect more female adolescents from STI. In addition, sex education including an alcohol prevention program should be considered to lower STI among female adolescents.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.1177-1180
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• 2014

Background: Anogenital warts (AGWs) are common results of sexually transmitted infection (STI). Human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6 and 11, which are non-oncogenic types, account for 90% of the clinical manifestations. Although the quadrivalent HPV vaccine has been launched, AGW remains prevalent in some countries and shows association with abnormal cervical cytology. Objectives: To study the prevalence of abnormal cervical cytology (low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions or worse; LSIL+) in immunocompetent Thai women newly presenting with external AGWs. Materials and Methods: Medical charts of all women attending Siriraj STI clinic during 2007-2011 were reviewed. Only women presenting with external AGWs who were not immunocompromised (pregnant, human immunodeficiency virus positive or being on immunosuppressant drugs) and had not been diagnosed with cervical cancer were included into the study. Multivariate analysis was used to determine the association between the characteristics of the patients and those of AGWs and LSIL+. Results: A total of 191 women were eligible, with a mean age of $27.0{\pm}8.9$ years; and a mean body mass index of $20.6{\pm}8.9kg/m^2$. Half of them finished university. The most common type of AGWs was exophytic (80.1%). The posterior fourchette appeared to be the most common affected site of the warts (31.9%), followed by labia minora (26.6%) and mons pubis (19.9%). The median number of lesions was 3 (range 1-20). Around 40% of them had recurrent warts within 6 months after completing the treatment. The prevalence of LSIL+ at the first visit was 16.3% (LSIL 12.6%, ASC-H 1.1%, HSIL 2.6%). After adjusting for age, parity and miscarriage, number of warts ${\geq}5$ was the only factor associated with LSIL+(aOR 2.65, 95%CI 1.11-6.29, p 0.027). Conclusions: LSIL+ is prevalent among immunocompetent Thai women presenting with external AGWs, especially those with multiple lesions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.3983-3988
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• 2016

Background: Cervical cancer though preventable is still the leading cause of cancer death among women secondary to breast cancer. Persistent infection with HPV has been causally linked to the disease. A school based HPV vaccination program was introduced in late 2010 in Malaysia and nurse support is essential for its success. Objectives: To determine nurses knowledge and attitudes about HPV infection and its vaccines, and factors associated with their knowledge. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among nurses working at primary health clinics in Kelantan from mid-June till the end of July 2014. Its involved 330 nurses selected through multistage random sampling. A validated self-administered questionnaire consisting of 11 items for the knowledge domain and eight items for the attitude domain was used. Results: The response rate of the study was 93.7%. The mean knowledge and mean attitude (SD) scores were 5.37 (1.76) and 29.8 (3.51) respectively. Only 24% knew that HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection and 67% correctly answered that Gardasil vaccine can protect against four types of HPV. Nearly 60% of participants wrongly answered that HPV vaccines cannot be offered to sexually active women. Likewise, 70.9% participants were not aware that HPV vaccine may be appropriate for females aged 9 through 26 years. Though 90% of participants believed that the vaccine is safe, nearly half of them were unsure about efficacy. From multiple linear regression analysis, among the factors tested only participant's level of education showed a statistically significant association with the HPV knowledge score (p <0.001). Conclusions: This study indicates nurses have favorable attitudes towards HPV vaccination; however they have significant knowledge deficit and major misunderstanding in critical knowledge items. Among the factors tested, nursing qualification is the only factor that is significantly associated with the nurses knowledge score.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.75-80
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• 2016

This study explored epidemiological trends in trichomoniasis in Daegu, South Korea. Wet mount microscopy, PCR, and multiplex PCR were used to test for Trichomonas vaginalis in vaginal swab samples obtained from 621 women visiting 2 clinics in Daegu. Of the 621 women tested, microscopy detected T. vaginalis in 4 (0.6%) patients, PCR detected T. vaginalis in 19 (3.0%) patients, and multiplex PCR detected T. vaginalis in 12 (1.9%) patients. Testing via PCR demonstrated high sensitivity and high negative predictive value for T. vaginalis. Among the 19 women who tested positive for T. vaginalis according to PCR, 94.7% (18/19) reported vaginal signs and symptoms. Notably, more than 50% of T. vaginalis infections occurred in females younger than 30 years old, and 58% were unmarried. Multiplex PCR, which simultaneously detects pathogens from various sexually transmitted infections, revealed that 91.7% (11/12) of patients were infected with 2 or more pathogens. Mycoplasma hominis was the most prevalent co-infection pathogen with T. vaginalis, followed by Ureaplasma urealyticum and Chlamydia trachomatis. Our results indicate that PCR and multiplex PCR are the most sensitive tools for T. vaginalis diagnosis, rather than microscopy which has been routinely used to detect T. vaginalis infections in South Korea. Therefore, clinicians should take note of the high prevalence of T. vaginalis infections among adolescent and young women in order to prevent persistent infection and transmission of this disease.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.37-53
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• 2021

Background and objectives: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection globally and is responsible for multiple clinical outcomes, including genital warts and cervical, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers. Despite the well established burden of HPV on both men and women, vaccine uptake among men is critically low in Korea. A preliminary step to combat this issue is to target parents of male adolescents. In the present study, we aimed to assess any change observed in parents' HPV knowledge and attitudes towards male HPV and subsequent willingness to vaccinate their sons following an HPV educational intervention. Methods: On November 14, 2020, a one-time HPV educational session was conducted and parents (n=136) completed self-administered pre-/post-test questionnaires that included previously validated survey items. Paired t-tests were used to evaluate change in HPV-related knowledge, attitudes and intent for HPV vaccination. Results: Following the intervention, participants reported increased scores in HPV and vaccine related knowledge by approximately 4 and 1.5 points, respectively (p<.001). Parents scored higher on perceived benefits of the vaccine, perceived social influence on vaccination decision and perceived severity of diseases caused by HPV infections, whereas lower scores were observed for perceived harm of the vaccine, and difficulties communicating with their sons about sex and HPV vaccination. Following the intervention, those without the intent to vaccinate their sons significantly decreased and those who intended to vaccinate their sons though not in the next six months significantly increased (χ2=33.045, p<.001) Conclusion: Our educational intervention resulted in an increase in HPV-related knowledge with a positive impact on parents' attitudes toward male HPV vaccination. We expect that this study can serve as a pivotal reference to promote the unexplored issue of HPV vaccination among male adolescents in Korea.