SOCIOECONOMIC DIFFERENCES IN SEXUALLY-TRANSMITTED DISEASE RATES AMONGBLACK-AND-WHITE ADOLESCENTS, SAN-FRANCISCO, 1990 TO 1992

This paper examines the effect of socioeconomic position on the differ ences in the 3-year rates (1990 to 1992) of reported cases of gonorrhe a and Chlamydia between Black and White adolescents, aged 12 to 20 yea rs, residing in San Francisco, The crude relative risks for Blacks wer e 23.4 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 20.4, 27.8) for gonorrhea and 9 .3 (95% CI = 8.3, 10.3) for Chlamydia. Adjusting for poverty and occup ational status, the relative risks were 28.7 (95% CI = 22.5, 36.1) for gonorrhea and 8.9 (95% CI = 7.4, 10.6) for Chlamydia. This study demo nstrates that factors other than poverty and occupational status accou nt for the racial/ethnic differences in the rates of gonorrhea and Chl amydia among adolescents in San Francisco.