Sexually transmitted infections in Belgian general practices: a nationwide continuing surveillance study, data from 2015 to 2020.

Abstract

Aim: The current study aims at describing sexually transmitted infections (STI) surveillance data collected from 2015 to 2020 as well as investigating patients' characteristics and risk factors in the sample population.

Background: Reported STI cases are continuously increasing in Europe. In Belgium, 94.1% of citizens have a regular general practitioner (GP) or are affiliated to a general practice. By using GPs for surveillance, STIs can be monitored in the general population. Between January 2015 and December 2020, the Sentinel General Practitioners (SGP) network retrospectively reported five STIs: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, genital warts, herpes, and syphilis.

Methods: In the SGP network database on STIs, participating GPs report on case-by-case basis through paper or online registration forms. We performed descriptive statistics, X² test and logistic regression using SAS^® 9.4. Multivariate multiple logistic regression was performed to investigate the relationship between STIs and patients' characteristics.

Findings: During the study period, 1009 cases were reported, corresponding to an episode-based incidence estimated at 121 per 100,000 inhabitants. The majority of patients (59.8%) were men, and 83.6% were under age 30. Among female patients 92.7% had heterosexual contacts whereas 64.4% of male patients did. Women were more likely to be diagnosed with chlamydia (odds ratio [OR] 1.56; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.12-2.17) and herpes (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.04-2.86) than men.In this study, STI surveillance data were in agreement with literature. Continuous surveillance through the SGP network remains an important tool to obtain information about populations at risk and STI incidence in the general population.