Sexually transmitted infections (STI) in the UK have more than doubled in the last five years, despite greater condom use, according to a national survey of sexual attitudes and lifestyles published on Friday.
The Medical Research Council鈥檚 survey of 11,000 people aged 16 to 44 found one in 10 adults has had an STI. Chlamydia was the most common, especially in women in England, where it is the main cause of infertility.
The authors suggest the surprising rise in infections is due to people having more sexual partners and up to a quarter of people not using condoms correctly. The latter factor may explain why a rise still occurred despite condom use being especially high among people who had a large number of partners.
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One of the report鈥檚 authors, Anne Johnson from University College London, said: 鈥淧eople are marrying later and so having a greater number of partners. Our findings show more homosexual activity, more people paying for sex and more oral and anal sex.鈥�
She added: 鈥淲e must be realistic about the sexual practice in our society and not bury our heads in the sand.鈥�
Multiple partners
Important factors influencing an individual鈥檚 sexual practices were age, gender and where they lived. For example, the incidence of chlamydia 鈥� about three per cent 鈥� was fairly even throughout the UK. By contrast, gonorrhoea was especially high in cities.
鈥淕onorrhoea is a very fragile organism and requires a high level of partner change for it to spread,鈥� explains another author Kevin Fenton, from University College London and the UK Public Health Laboratory. Cities such as London have high levels of partner change as the result of a large gay community and of prostitution 鈥� one in 11 men has paid for sex in London.
Fenton said the rise in STIs reflects a global increase caused in part by a phenomenon known as 鈥渟afe-sex fatigue鈥�, where people become oblivious to health messages.
This is exacerbated by the general increase in travel, which results in new strains being transmitted around the globe. 鈥淓very year we see a surge in STIs after the summer when people return from holidays,鈥� Fenton told New 杏吧原创.
But Fenton said UK immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa, where STIs are particularly prevalent, are unlikely to be adding to infections 鈥� they were more than twice as likely to use condoms during sex.
Targeting men
The report鈥檚 authors agree that the best way of reducing STI transmission is through better education and wider screening, particularly for men.
鈥淪exual health must now move beyond GUM clinics to other settings like primary care. Every GP should be able to take a sexual history and demonstrate how to use a condom,鈥� says Fenton.
鈥淭he excuse that men are a hard to reach group, despite making up half of the population, must be challenged,鈥� he adds.
Journal references: The Lancet (vol 358, p 1828, 1835, 1843, 1851)