SEXUAL-BEHAVIOR IN TRAVELERS ABROAD ATTENDING AN INNER-CITY GENITOURINARY MEDICINE CLINIC

Objective: To investigate frequency of sexual encounters with new part ners abroad in patients attending a genitourinary clinic (GUM). Method s: In a case series 464 attenders at a genitourinary medicine clinic c ompleted an anonymous self-administered questionnaire, if they had bee n abroad recently, enquiring about sexual behaviour abroad. Results: 2 8.4% of subjects admitted to sex with a new partner abroad with only 4 1.7 per cent consistently using condoms. There were no significant dif ferences in condom use for gender, ethnicity or type of visit and rela tionship. Twenty-nine per cent of those admitting to sex abroad had mo re than one partner. The risk of multiple partners was not associated with gender, ethnicity, type of visit (holiday or business) or type of relationship (heterosexual or homosexual). The first partner abroad f or 63% of men and 62.5% of women was of a nationality other than that of United Kingdom residents. Non-Caucasians and homosexuals were signi ficantly more likely to have first partners abroad from outside the UK than Caucasians and heterosexuals respectively. Conclusion: The occur rence of casual sex abroad in GUM attenders suggests that further rese arch is needed to establish targetable risk factors for this type of b ehaviour amenable to change through health promotion.