Anorectal swabs as a marker of male-to-male sexual exposure in STI surveillance systems
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-20, 03:40authored byAmpt, FH, El Hayek, C, Agius, PA, Bowring, AL, Bartnik, N, van Gemert, C, Fairley, CK, Chow, EPF, Bradshaw, CS, Nicola StephensNicola Stephens, Lim, MSC, Hellard, ME
Identification of priority populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM) is important in surveillance systems to monitor trends of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). We explored using routinely collected non-behavioural data as a means to establish MSM status in surveillance by assessing anorectal swab as a marker of male-to-male sexual exposure. We used chlamydia testing data from a sexual health clinic, 2007-2012. Men reporting any male sexual partner(s) in the previous 12 months were considered MSM. The dataset was split into development and validation samples to develop a univariate predictive model and assess the model fit. The dataset included 30 358 individual men and 48 554 episodes of STI testing; 45% were among reported MSM and an anorectal swab was performed in 40% of testing episodes. Anorectal swabbing had good diagnostic performance as a marker for MSM status (sensitivity = 87%, specificity = 99%, positive predictive value = 98·6%, negative predictive value = 90·3%). The model showed good fit against the internal validation sample (area under the curve = 0·93). Anorectal swabs are a valid marker of MSM behaviour in surveillance data from sexual health clinics, and they are likely to be particularly useful for monitoring STI trends among MSM with higher risk behaviour.
History
Publication title
Epidemiology and Infection
Volume
145
Issue
12
Pagination
2530-2535
ISSN
1469-4409
Department/School
Tasmanian School of Medicine
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Rights statement
Copyright 2017 Cambridge University Press
Repository Status
Restricted
Socio-economic Objectives
Disease distribution and transmission (incl. surveillance and response)