The Syphilis Epidemic Among Heterosexuals Is Accelerating: Evidence From King County, Washington.

ABSTRACT:

Background

We characterized the rapid increase in syphilis among cisgender women in King County, Washington, and compared it with trends among cisgender men who have sex with men.

Method

We used surveillance data from King County, 2007 to 2022, to describe incidence trends stratified by syphilis stage, gender, and gender of sex partners; trends in pregnant cases and congenital syphilis; and trends in rapid plasma reagin titer at diagnosis among late/unknown duration cases. We used joinpoint regression to analyze trends.

Results

Among cisgender women, all-stage syphilis incidence remained stable from 2007 to 2010 but then increased by 16.3% per year (95% CI, 12.0%-20.7%) from 2010 to 2020 and 90.1% per year (95% CI, 26.4%-185.9%) from 2020 to 2022. Early syphilis rates

SUBMITTER: Berzkalns A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10578507 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature