Risky behaviour in Jamaican adolescent patients attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic

The prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and risky behaviour p atterns were studied in 165 adolescents attending a STD clinic in Jamaica A standardised structured questionnaire, clinical algorithms for STD and ser ological tests for HIV and syphilitic infection were applied High prevalenc es of risky behaviour including young age at onset of sexual activity, espe cially in boys, (mean age 12.5 +/- 2.5 years); unprotected sexual intercour se (only 4% used condoms consistently); multiple sexual partners (mean 3.8 +/- 2.4 and 1.8 +/- 1.2 for boys and girls, respectively) were found Mariju ana, used by 60% of the boys, was an independent risk factor for dysuria (a djusted Odds Ratio (OR), 2.0; 95% CI, 1.6 - 3.4). Repeated episodes of STD (33%), coinfection with HIV (1.2%), syphilis (1.2%) and teenage pregnancy ( 13%) were prominent findings. Educational strategies which promote behaviou r intervention at an early age, frequent and consistent use of condoms, abs tinence or delayed onset of sexual activity are essential to reducing the H IV/AIDS and STD risk in adolescents in Jamaica.