Differences between non-national and indigenous patients with sexually transmitted infections in Italy and insight into the control of sexually transmitted infections

Background: To determine the health needs non-nationals, informationon disease occurrence is fundamental.Goals: The goal of this study was to assess the clinical and behavioralcharacteristics of non-Italians with a new sexually transmittedinfection (STI).Methods: Data were taken from Italy’s National STI SurveillanceSystem (1991–1999).Results: Of the 61,798 STI cases reported from January 1991 toDecember 1999, 6847 (11.2%) were diagnosed among non-Italians,47.1% of whom were Africans. Being a non-Italian patient with an STIwas associated with male gender (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.19;95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11–1.27), youngest age (AOR, 1.71;95% CI, 1.43–2.04), no formal education (AOR, 20.25; 95% CI, 17.51–23.42), and having contracted the STI abroad (AOR, 13.98; 95% CI,12.59 –15.54). The HIV-1 prevalence among non-Italian patients withSTIs was 5.5% (95% CI, 4.9–6.2), with large differences by continentof origin. The highest prevalence was found among European injectingdrug users (54.1%; 95% CI, 37.1–70.1), South American homosexualmen (41.6%; 95% CI, 32.0 –51.8), and heterosexuals from Sub-SaharanAfrica (8.9%; 95% CI, 7.2–10.8).Conclusions: Non-Italian patients with STIs seem to consist mainlyof migrants, and STI transmission patterns differ from those amongItalians; this information is important for developing targeted STIprevention effort