Sexually Transmitted Diseases: How Much Do Adolescents Know?

Background: Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) are a major area of world public health. Behavior at risk, often encountered in the very young, is among the determinants of their incidence. The aim of this study was to establish how aware adolescents are of the risk of STD. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in May and June 2014 in three high schools in the town of Arezzo. The data was obtained with an anonymous questionnaire. Sample size, calculated by EpiInfo (C.I. 99%) was 390. The t-test and ANOVA were used to compare males and females and the different school years (classes); the Odds Ratio was used to evaluate propensity to answer the questions correctly by females and males and in 3rd years compared to 4th and 5th years. The number of questionnaires analysed was 603. Results: The mean age of participants was 17.8 years (SD 1.01); 62.2% were female. A correct definition of STD was given by 64.3%: males outnumbering females (OR 1.48, p<0.05) and 5th year outnumbering 3rd and 4th years (p<0.001). A high percentage of students (98.5%) knew that HIV was sexually transmitted and awareness was also high with regard to syphilis (79.6%) and Candida infection (72.3%). Older students were less informed about HPV that younger students (OR 0.55; p