Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections in Republic of Korea: Impacts of Sex, Age, and Testing Method

The prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) is increasing globally, necessitating a quick and accurate diagnosis method for appropriate treatment selection. An analysis of venereal diseases conducted at U2Bio (Jangwon Medical Foundation, Seoul, Republic of Korea) over a 2-year period showed that Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) infection rates were related to sex, age, and specimen type. We hypothesized that the prevalence of CT and NG varied depending on these factors and statistically analyzed STD prevalence in Korea to provide case data for future STD research. We employed multiplex PCR (mPCR) to analyze 343,071 specimens collected between January 2018 and December 2020 for 12 STD-causing pathogens. Our findings revealed that 34.7% (n = 119,232/343,071) of specimens tested positive for one or more STD-causing pathogens, with females exhibiting an overall higher positivity rate than males. Of the 119,232 positive specimens, 25.0% (n = 29,785/119,232) were CT-positive cases, 10.2% (n = 12,150/119,232) of the cases were NG-positive, and males had markedly higher CT and NG positivity rates than females, along with higher co-infection rates. The prevalence of both CT and NG infections predominated in the 20-29 age group at 49.4% (n = 14,686/29,785) and 43.6% (n = 5,296/12,150), respectively; the prevalence decreased with age, consistent with previous studies. These findings suggest that sex, age, and sampling methods are important factors that need to be considered when developing effective STD prevention and management strategies. However, our study has limitations in that a comparative analysis could not be performed with the data collected from other institutions, making it necessary to collect data from other inspection agencies other than U2Bio and to conduct a follow-up study in the future.