The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Sexually Transmitted Infections surveillance data: incidence drop or artefact?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were increasing in Europe, and Spain and Catalonia were not an exception. Catalonia has been one of the regions with the highest number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Spain. The objective of this study was to estimate the magnitude of the decline, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in the number of STI confirmed cases in Catalonia during the lockdown and de-escalation phases.

Methods

Interrupted time series analysis was performed to estimate the magnitude of decline in the number of STI reported confirmed cases - chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, and lymphogranuloma venereum- in Catalonia since lockdown with historical data, from March 13th to August 1st 2020, comparing the observed with the expected v

SUBMITTER: Sentis A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8423330 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature