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Changes in alcohol consumption and in sexually transmitted disease
incidence rates in the United States: 1983-1998.
Journal of Studies on Alcohol 2003; 64:623-630.
Chesson HW, Harrison P, Stall R.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: A substantial research literature has documented an association
between alcohol consumption and risky sexual behavior at the level of the
individual. We explored the association between changes in alcohol consumption
and sexually transmitted disease (STD) incidence rates at the level of the
50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. METHOD: We used multivariate
analyses to examine state-level changes in STD rates (gonorrhea and syphilis)
and state-level changes in alcohol consumption, controlling for changes in
state-level characteristics (e.g.. poverty, age distribution of population)
and for national trends in factors that affect STD rates. RESULTS: From 1983
to 1998, changes in alcohol consumption were significantly associated with
changes in gonorrhea and syphilis rates. Each 1% increase in per capita alcohol
consumption was associated with increases of about 0.4% to 0.7% in reported
gonorrhea incidence rates and 1.8% to 3.6% in reported syphilis incidence
rates. CONCLUSIONS: The association between alcohol and risky sex, well documented
at the level of the individual, might hold at the population level as well.