HETEROSEXUAL GONORRHEA AT ST THOMAS .1. PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR TARGETED STD AND HIV PREVENTION STRATEGIES

This paper compares the socio-demographic characteristics of patients with gonorrhoea with a control group of other attendees to an inner-Lo ndon genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic. Between 16 May and 21 Decemb er 1994 inclusive there were 312 culture-confirmed heterosexually-acqu ired cases of Neisseria gonorrheae treated in our clinic: 192 (61.54%) men and 120 (38.46%) women. There were significant differences betwee n the population of cases and controls. Both male (z=-5.36, P < 0.001) and female (z=-6.6, P < 0.001) cases were younger than controls. Case s were more likely to be black African-Caribbean than were controls an d these differences were more marked in men (chi(2)=47.85, P < 0.001). Cases were also more likely to reside in south London postal district s than were controls (chi(2)=24.98, P < 0.001). The implications of th ese findings for targeted health interventions are discussed and we su ggest avenues for further work.