Data from: Prevalence and treatment of sexually transmitted infections in men followed by urologists in Germany – a cross sectional study with 347,090 men

Aim: The goal of this retrospective analysis was to study the prevalence
and treatment of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STI) in
men followed by urologists in Germany. Methods: This study included a
total of 347,090 men followed in 71 urology practices in Germany between
2013 and 2015. The first outcome was the prevalence of individuals
diagnosed with STI between 2013 and 2015. The following eight types of STI
infections were included in the analysis: chlamydial infection, gonococcal
infection, anogenital warts, anogenital herpes infection, trichomoniasis,
ulcus molle, phthiriasis, and syphilis. The second outcome was the
prevalence of individuals with STI who received an appropriate therapy
within 90 days of their initial STI diagnosis. Results: The most frequent
STI was anogenital warts (0.64%), whereas the least frequent STI was
syphilis (0.03%). The median age at diagnosis ranged from 30.3 years for
chlamydia infection to 47.5 years for trichomoniasis. The proportion of
individuals receiving treatment was the highest for trichomoniasis (90.6%)
and the lowest for anogenital warts (49.9%). Conclusions: Overall,
approximately 1.25% of men followed in urology practices in Germany
between 2013 and 2015 were diagnosed with at least one STI. Further
research is needed to gain a better understanding of the factors
potentially associated with the risk of being diagnosed with STI in this
setting in Germany. Moreover, there is a need for enabling higher rates of
diagnosis and thus treatment of infected persons.