Borghi Alessandro, Flacco Maria Elena, Pacetti Lucrezia, Orioni Gionathan, Marzola Elisa, Cultrera Rosario, Guerra Valentina, Manfredini Roberto, Gaspari Valeria, Segala Daniela, Corazza Monica
Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Dermatology and Infectious Diseases, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.
Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.
J Pers Med. 2023 Apr 26;13(5):731. doi: 10.3390/jpm13050731.
There is no evidence of seasonal variation in visits to clinics dedicated to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Italy, nor of changes after the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. An observational, retrospective, multicentric study was conducted to record and analyze all the visits to the STI clinics of the Dermatology Units of the University Hospitals of Ferrara and Bologna and of the Infectious Disease Unit of Ferrara, Italy, between January 2016 and November 2021. Overall, 11.733 visits were registered over a 70-month study period (63.7% males, mean age 34.5 ± 12.8 yrs). The mean number of monthly visits significantly decreased from the advent of the pandemic (136) compared to before (177). In the pre-pandemic period, visits to STI clinics increased in the autumn/winter months when compared to spring/summer, while the trend was the opposite in the pandemic period. Thus, during the pandemic, both an overall significant reduction in visits to STI clinics and a reversal in their seasonality were observed. These trends affected males and females equally. The marked decrease, mostly found in the pandemic winter months, can be linked to the "lockdown"/self-isolation ordinances and social distancing measures during the colder months, coinciding with the spread of the COVID-19 infection, which limited the opportunities for meeting and socializing.
在意大利，没有证据表明专门诊治性传播感染（STIs）的诊所就诊存在季节性变化，也没有证据表明在新冠疫情出现后有变化。开展了一项观察性、回顾性、多中心研究，记录并分析了2016年1月至2021年11月期间意大利费拉拉和博洛尼亚大学医院皮肤科性病诊所以及费拉拉传染病科的所有就诊情况。在为期70个月的研究期间，共记录了11733次就诊（男性占63.7%，平均年龄34.5±12.8岁）。与疫情出现前（每月177次）相比，疫情出现后每月就诊的平均次数显著减少（136次）。在疫情前时期，与春季/夏季相比，性病诊所的就诊人数在秋季/冬季有所增加，而在疫情期间趋势相反。因此，在疫情期间，观察到性病诊所就诊人数总体显著减少，且季节性发生了逆转。这些趋势对男性和女性的影响相同。明显的减少主要出现在疫情期间的冬季月份，这可能与寒冷月份的“封锁”/自我隔离规定以及社交距离措施有关，同时恰逢新冠病毒感染的传播，这限制了见面和社交的机会。
