OBJECTIVES: To learn about some social and behavioral characteristics of female adolescents with Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD), to compare them with adolescents without STD attended at NESA-UERJ (Adolescent Health Study Center of the State University of Rio de Janeiro) and to identify possible risk factors related to STD. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed by interviewing adolescents that sought care at NESA between August/2001 and July/2003. For data analysis, we computed the frequency of variables and compared the two groups of adolescents, with and without STD, performing chi-square test, with a 5% level of significance. RESULTS: We interviewed a group of 251 adolescents of which 78 (31.1%) were sexually active and had STD, 83 (33.1%) were sexually active and did not have STD and 90 (35.8%) had never experienced sexual intercourse. The mean age of the first sexual intercourse of the sexually active adolescents was of 15 years. Vulvovaginitis was the most frequent diagnosis. Comparing girls with STD to those without STD we found respectively, school setback in 41% and 23.1% (p<0.05), alcohol use in the last month in 43.6% and 25.4% (p<0.05), drug abuse in 15.4% and 2.9% (p<0.05), live away from both parents 73.1% and 46.8% (p<0.05), family violence in 52.6% and 38.1% (p<0.05), sexual abuse in 33.3% and 11.6% (p<0.05) and failure to use a condom during sexual intercourse in 80.3% and 59% (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that there are multiple STD risk factors in both groups. We believe that intervention of the health services for the purpose of reducing incidence of STD in adolescents should be concentrated on the continued encouragement for the use of a condom at each sexual intercourse, as the decrease of other risk factors seems to rest upon actions that are beyond the health ambit.
Sexuality; Adolescence; STD/Aids; Prevention and control
