Visits to Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinics in Italy from January 2016 to November 2021: A Multicenter, Retrospective Study
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 cl...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Journal of Personalized Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/13/5/731 |
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| author | Alessandro Borghi Maria Elena Flacco Lucrezia Pacetti Gionathan Orioni Elisa Marzola Rosario Cultrera Valentina Guerra Roberto Manfredini Valeria Gaspari Daniela Segala Monica Corazza |
| author_facet | Alessandro Borghi Maria Elena Flacco Lucrezia Pacetti Gionathan Orioni Elisa Marzola Rosario Cultrera Valentina Guerra Roberto Manfredini Valeria Gaspari Daniela Segala Monica Corazza |
| author_sort | Alessandro Borghi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:35:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4dd8069f72c14f18876611e927b3bf3f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4426 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:35:23Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Personalized Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-4dd8069f72c14f18876611e927b3bf3f2023-11-18T02:03:19ZengMDPI AGJournal of Personalized Medicine2075-44262023-04-0113573110.3390/jpm13050731Visits to Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinics in Italy from January 2016 to November 2021: A Multicenter, Retrospective StudyAlessandro Borghi0Maria Elena Flacco1Lucrezia Pacetti2Gionathan Orioni3Elisa Marzola4Rosario Cultrera5Valentina Guerra6Roberto Manfredini7Valeria Gaspari8Daniela Segala9Monica Corazza10Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Dermatology and Infectious Diseases, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, ItalyDepartment of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, ItalyDepartment of Medical Sciences, Section of Dermatology and Infectious Diseases, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, ItalyDermatology Unit, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40126 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Medical Sciences, Section of Dermatology and Infectious Diseases, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, ItalyInfectious Diseases, Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, ItalyPlanning and Management Control, University Hospital of Ferrara, 44124 Cona, ItalyUniversity Center for Studies on Gender Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, ItalyDermatology Unit, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40126 Bologna, ItalyInfectious Diseases, Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, ItalyDepartment of Medical Sciences, Section of Dermatology and Infectious Diseases, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, ItalyThere 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/13/5/731sexually transmitted infectionsseasonalityCOVID-19pandemicgender |
| spellingShingle | Alessandro Borghi Maria Elena Flacco Lucrezia Pacetti Gionathan Orioni Elisa Marzola Rosario Cultrera Valentina Guerra Roberto Manfredini Valeria Gaspari Daniela Segala Monica Corazza Visits to Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinics in Italy from January 2016 to November 2021: A Multicenter, Retrospective Study Journal of Personalized Medicine sexually transmitted infections seasonality COVID-19 pandemic gender |
| title | Visits to Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinics in Italy from January 2016 to November 2021: A Multicenter, Retrospective Study |
| title_full | Visits to Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinics in Italy from January 2016 to November 2021: A Multicenter, Retrospective Study |
| title_fullStr | Visits to Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinics in Italy from January 2016 to November 2021: A Multicenter, Retrospective Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Visits to Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinics in Italy from January 2016 to November 2021: A Multicenter, Retrospective Study |
| title_short | Visits to Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinics in Italy from January 2016 to November 2021: A Multicenter, Retrospective Study |
| title_sort | visits to sexually transmitted infection clinics in italy from january 2016 to november 2021 a multicenter retrospective study |
| topic | sexually transmitted infections seasonality COVID-19 pandemic gender |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/13/5/731 |
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