Mori Yoshiro, Miyatake Nobuyuki, Mori Yuka, Tanimoto Kiyotaka, Morioka Hisayoshi
Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, JPN.
Department of Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Miki, JPN.
Cureus. 2025 May 1;17(5):e83294. doi: 10.7759/cureus.83294. eCollection 2025 May.
In recent years, a notable increase in syphilis cases has been observed in Japan, aligning with global trends. We aimed to elucidate the trends in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) incidence (specifically syphilis) in Japan and examine its relationship with the number of sex industry-related businesses in prefectures.
Data on STIs and the number of sex industry-related businesses from 2000 to 2022 were obtained from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) and the official website of the Japan National Crime Prevention Association, respectively. Joinpoint analysis and regression analysis were used to identify inflection points in the trend of syphilis and describe the association between STI incidence and the overall number (and the number of different categories) of sex industry-related businesses (i.e., store-based soaplands, store-based fashion health, nude studio, love hotels, adult shops, and meeting cafes, and non-store-based including dispatch-type fashion health and adult video mail orders). The population data was obtained from the 2022 population estimates provided by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
In this study, a significant increase in the number of syphilis cases has been observed in Japan in recent years, with joinpoint analysis identifying a significant inflection point in 2020 (annual percent change: 43.8). Multiple regression analysis adjusted for the prefectural population revealed a strong association between the incidence of STIs and number of sex industry-related businesses. Specifically, a strong association was observed between the number of Category I non-store-based sex-related business syphilis cases among men (standardized β=0.908, p<0.001, R=0.938) and women (standardized β=1.017, p<0.001, R=0.921), as well as AIDS cases for men (standardized β=0.991, p<0.001, R=0.910).
The significant increase in syphilis cases in Japan among men and women may be related to an increase in non-store-based, dispatch-type fashion health sex-related businesses. These findings indicate that public health policies should consider these specific social and behavioral factors in future interventions.
近年来，日本梅毒病例显著增加，与全球趋势一致。我们旨在阐明日本性传播感染（STIs）（特别是梅毒）发病率的趋势，并研究其与各都道府县性产业相关企业数量的关系。
分别从国立感染症研究所（NIID）和日本全国犯罪预防协会官方网站获取2000年至2022年性传播感染数据和性产业相关企业数量。采用Joinpoint分析和回归分析来确定梅毒趋势中的拐点，并描述性传播感染发病率与性产业相关企业总数（及不同类别数量）之间的关联（即基于店铺的肥皂乐园、基于店铺的时尚健康店、裸体工作室、情人酒店、成人用品店、约会咖啡馆，以及非基于店铺的包括派遣型时尚健康店和成人视频邮购店）。人口数据来自内政通信省统计局提供的2022年人口估计数。
在本研究中，近年来日本梅毒病例数显著增加，Joinpoint分析确定2020年有一个显著拐点（年度变化百分比：43.8）。对都道府县人口进行调整的多元回归分析显示，性传播感染发病率与性产业相关企业数量之间存在强关联。具体而言，男性（标准化β=0.908，p<0.001，R=0.938）和女性（标准化β=1.017，p<0.001，R=0.921）中第一类非基于店铺的性相关企业梅毒病例数与艾滋病病例数之间存在强关联。
日本男性和女性梅毒病例的显著增加可能与非基于店铺的、派遣型时尚健康性相关企业的增加有关。这些发现表明，公共卫生政策在未来干预措施中应考虑这些特定的社会和行为因素。
