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Sexual risk behaviors and sexually transmitted infection prevalence in an outpatient psychiatry clinic.
Identifier
013018
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
What this paper implies is that some mental illness is caused by the pathogens that cause STIs.
Chlamydia trachomatis, an obligate intracellular human pathogen, is one of four bacterial species in the genus Chlamydia. C. trachomatis is a gram-negative bacterium, therefore its cell wall components retain the counter-stain safranin and appear pink under a light microscope. It can appear as either coccoid or rod shape The inclusion bodies of Chlamydia trachomatis were first described in 1942
Trichomonas vaginalis is an anaerobic, flagellated protozoan parasite and the causative agent of trichomoniasis. It is the most common pathogenic protozoan infection of humans in industrialized countries. Infection rates between men and women are similar with women being symptomatic, while infections in men are usually asymptomatic. Transmission usually occurs via direct, skin-to-skin contact with an infected individual, most often through vaginal intercourse. The WHO has estimated that 160 million cases of infection are acquired annually worldwide. The estimates for North America alone are between 5 and 8 million new infections each year, with an estimated rate of asymptomatic cases as high as 50%.
A description of the experience
Sex Transm Dis. 2008 Oct;35(10):877-82. doi: 10.1097/OLQ.0b013e31817bbc89.
Sexual risk behaviors and sexually transmitted infection prevalence in an outpatient psychiatry clinic.
King C1, Feldman J, Waithaka Y, Aban I, Hu J, Zhang S, Hook E 3rd, Bachmann LH.
BACKGROUND: Nearly 3% of Americans experience severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) and behaviors that place affected individuals at risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are common. Few data describe the prevalence of risk behaviors or STI among persons with SPMI. We aim to quantitate STI/human immunodeficiency virus risk and determine the STI prevalence amongst outpatient psychiatric clinic attendees.
METHODS: Psychiatric outpatients were approached to participate in an interviewer-administered survey collecting data on their sexual history, psychiatric history, and risk behaviors. Females submitted self-collected vaginal swabs, whereas males submitted urine to be tested for Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Trichomonas vaginalis (women only).
RESULTS: The prevalence of N. gonorrhoeae was 1%, C. trachomatis 3.3% and T. vaginalis 15.7%. Exchanging sex for drugs was the only behavior independently associated with having an STI in this population.
CONCLUSIONS: Taking a sexual history in persons with SPMI is important. Those engaging in high-risk behavior should be routinely screened for STI/human immunodeficiency virus allowing for detection, treatment, and preventive education.
PMID: 18607313
The source of the experience
PubMedConcepts, symbols and science items
Concepts
Symbols
Science Items
Activities and commonsteps
Activities
Overloads
Bacterial infectionDepression
Gonorrhea
Parasites
Suppressions
Manic depressionSchizophrenia