Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Dermatooncology, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, 1085 Budapest, Hungary.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 5;19(15):9627. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159627.
The social distancing measures introduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected the sexual behavior of the population. We collected data retrospectively from the National STD Center of Hungary. The overall patient influx data of the STD Center and the number of patients diagnosed with syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea infections were assessed in the three-month period of 2020 when the strict governmental lockdown was introduced in Hungary. Data were compared to the pre- and post-lockdown quarters of 2020 and matched to the respective quarters of 2018 and 2019. The number of patients diagnosed with syphilis and chlamydia infections in 2020 during the lockdown decreased compared to 2018 and 2019, while the number of gonorrhea cases increased. The lower number of STI screenings resulted in a significant decrease in asymptomatic syphilis and chlamydia case numbers. However, the growing number of gonorrhea cases in 2020 during lockdown highlights that sexual behavior remained unchanged regardless of restrictions. Therefore, gonorrhea may be considered as an indicator of STI incidences during the pandemic.
由于 COVID-19 大流行而实施的社交距离措施可能影响了人群的性行为。我们从匈牙利国家 STD 中心回顾性地收集数据。评估了 2020 年匈牙利政府实施严格封锁期间 STD 中心的总体患者流入数据以及诊断出梅毒、衣原体和淋病感染的患者数量。将数据与 2020 年封锁前后的季度以及 2018 年和 2019 年的相应季度进行比较。与 2018 年和 2019 年相比,2020 年封锁期间诊断出梅毒和衣原体感染的患者数量减少,而淋病病例数增加。由于性传播感染筛查次数减少,导致无症状梅毒和衣原体病例数量显著减少。然而,2020 年封锁期间淋病病例数的增加表明,无论限制如何,性行为都没有改变。因此,淋病可被视为大流行期间性传播感染发生率的一个指标。