Bacterial sexually transmitted infection screening rates by symptomatic status among men who have sex with men in the United States: a hierarchical Bayesian analysis.
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Prevention of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among men who have sex with men (MSM) requires timely disease detection, but this is complicated by asymptomatic infection. We estimated screening/testing rates by symptomatic status to evaluate adherence to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention STI screening guidelines. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study of 2572 US MSM aged 15 to 65 years in 2017 to 2018, we measured the reported number of asymptomatic STI screens in the past 2 years versus tests prompted by disease symptoms. Using negative binominal regression within a hierarchical Bayesian framework, we estimated yearly rates of asymptomatic screening and symptomatic testing by geographic, demographic, and behavioral factors. RESULTS: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status was most strongly associated with all testing/screening frequency (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.72; 95% credible interval [Crl], 1.49, 1.97). The HIV-uninfected MSM had 0.14 (95% credible interval [CrI], 0.12-0.17) symptomatic tests and 0.88 (95% CrI, 0.77-1.01) asymptomatic screens per year. The HIV-infected MSM had 0.25 (95% CrI, 0.18-0.35) symptomatic tests and 1.53 (95% CrI, 1.24-1.88) asymptomatic screens per year. Rates of asymptomatic screening were higher among black compared with white MSM (IRR, 1.41; 95% CrI, 1.15-1.73), but weakly associated with number of past-year sexual partners (IRR, 1.01; 95% CrI, 1.00-1.01). Overall, 85% to 90% of diagnostic events were asymptomatic screens. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported rates of STI screening were close to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended overall annual screening frequency, but with gaps defined by demographics and behavioral risk. Targeted screening efforts may be indicated specifically for younger MSM and those with multiple partners.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In a cross-sectional sample of MSM in the United States, approximately one third reported not having had an STI test during the previous 3 years, and MSM with multiple sex partners reported less frequent screening.
“In a cross-sectional sample of MSM in the United States, approximately one third reported not having had an STI test during the previous 3 years, and MSM with multiple sex partners reported less frequent screening (221).”
From Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines, 2021 (2021) · cites this paper as [221]
The Results report that 33.4% had no STI tests or screens in the previous two years, not three. They also report a 1.1% increase in asymptomatic screening frequency for each additional past-year partner; the Discussion says screening among higher-risk men was less frequent than recommended, not less frequent than among men with fewer partners. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Checked by a reasoning model — may be wrong.
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines, 2006
SKOLNIK, N. (2007) · Humana Press eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-59745-313-4_17 · Cited by 3,129 · see citing works
The No-U-turn sampler: adaptively setting path lengths in Hamiltonian Monte CarloPreprint
Homan, M. D., & Gelman, A. (2014) · arXiv (Cornell University) · Cited by 2,964 · see citing works
The No-U-Turn Sampler: Adaptively Setting Path Lengths in Hamiltonian Monte CarloPreprint
Hoffman, M. D., & Gelman, A. (2011) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1111.4246 · Cited by 2,575 · see citing works
Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines, 2010
Workowski, K., & BOLAN, G. A. (2011) · Annals of Emergency Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2011.04.006 · Cited by 2,074 · see citing works
Gelman, A., Lee, D., & Guo, J. (2015) · Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics · doi:10.3102/1076998615606113 · Cited by 542 · see citing works
Kent, C. K., Chaw, J. K., Wong, W., Liska, S., Gibson, S., Hubbard, G., & Klausner, J. D. (2005) · Clinical Infectious Diseases · doi:10.1086/430704 · Cited by 541 · see citing works
Greater Risk for HIV Infection of Black Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Critical Literature Review
Millett, G. A., Peterson, J. L., Wolitski, R. J., & Stall, R. D. (2006) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2005.066720 · Cited by 514 · see citing works
Rectal gonorrhea and chlamydia reinfection is associated with increased risk of HIV seroconversion.
Bernstein, K. T., Marcus, J. L., Nieri, G., Philip, S. S., & Klausner, J. D. (2010) · JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes · doi:10.1097/qai.0b013e3181c3ef29 · Cited by 360 · see citing works
Asymptomatic sexually transmitted diseases: the case for screening
Farley, T. A., Cohen, D. A., & Elkins, W. L. (2003) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/s0091-7435(02)00058-0 · Cited by 304 · see citing works
Sullivan, P. S., Peterson, J. L., Rosenberg, E. S., Kelley, C. F., Cooper, H. L. F., Vaughan, A. S., Salazar, L. F., Frew, P. M., Wingood, G. M., DiClemente, R. J., et al. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0090514 · Cited by 234 · see citing works
Self-citationJenness, S. M., Weiss, K. M., Goodreau, S. M., Gift, T., Chesson, H., Hoover, K. W., Smith, D. K., Liu, A. Y., Sullivan, P. S., & Rosenberg, E. S. (2017) · Clinical Infectious Diseases · doi:10.1093/cid/cix439 · Cited by 224 · see citing works
Self-citationPatton, M. E., Kidd, S., Llata, E., Stenger, M., Braxton, J., Asbel, L., Bernstein, K., Gratzer, B., Jespersen, M., Kerani, R., et al. (2014) · Clinical Infectious Diseases · doi:10.1093/cid/ciu184 · Cited by 206 · see citing works
Glick, S. N., Morris, M., Foxman, B., Aral, S. O., Manhart, L. E., Holmes, K. K., & Golden, M. R. (2012) · JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes · doi:10.1097/qai.0b013e318247925e · Cited by 199 · see citing works
Incidence of sexually transmitted infections before and after preexposure prophylaxis for HIV
Nguyen, V., Greenwald, Z. R., Trottier, H., Cadieux, M., Goyette, A., Beauchemin, M., Charest, L., Longpré, D., Lavoie, S., Tossa, H. G., et al. (2017) · AIDS · doi:10.1097/qad.0000000000001718 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Wiatrek, S. E., Zlotorzynska, M., Rai, R. P., Sullivan, P. S., & Sanchez, T. (2021) · JMIR Public Health and Surveillance · doi:10.2196/21812 · Cited by 147 · see citing works
Self-citationBauermeister, J. A., Pingel, E. S., Jadwin-Cakmak, L. A., Harper, G. W., Horvath, K. J., Weiss, G., & Dittus, P. (2015) · AIDS and Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10461-015-1009-y · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Sanchez, T., Sineath, R. C., Kahle, E., Tregear, S., & Sullivan, P. S. (2015) · JMIR Public Health and Surveillance · doi:10.2196/publichealth.4314 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Self-citation(2007) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · doi:10.1037/e639302007-001 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Rieg, G. K., Lewis, R. J., Miller, L. G., Witt, M. D., Guerrero, M., & Daar, E. S. (2008) · AIDS Patient Care and STDs · doi:10.1089/apc.2007.0240 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Kelley, C. F., Vaughan, A. S., Luisi, N., Sanchez, T., Salazar, L. F., Frew, P. M., Cooper, H. L. F., DiClemente, R. J., del Rı́o, C., Sullivan, P. S., et al. (2015) · AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses · doi:10.1089/aid.2015.0013 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Self-citationGoodreau, S. M., Rosenberg, E. S., Jenness, S. M., Luisi, N., Stansfield, S. E., Millett, G. A., & Sullivan, P. S. (2017) · The Lancet HIV · doi:10.1016/s2352-3018(17)30067-x · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Self-citationGuy, R., Goller, J. L., Spelman, T. D., El‐Hayek, C., Gold, J., Lim, M. S. C., Leslie, D. E., Tee, B. K., Roth, N., Anderson, J., et al. (2010) · Sexually Transmitted Infections · doi:10.1136/sti.2009.040972 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
de Voux, A., Kidd, S., Grey, J. A., Rosenberg, E. S., Gift, T. L., Weinstock, H., & Bernstein, K. T. (2017) · MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report · doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6613a1 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
The Public Health Response to Epidemic Syphilis, San Francisco, 1999–2004
Klausner, J. D., Kent, C. K., Wong, W., McCright, J., & Katz, M. H. (2005) · Sexually Transmitted Diseases · doi:10.1097/01.olq.0000180456.15861.92 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Syphilis Screening and Diagnosis Among Men Who Have Sex With Men, 2008–2014, 20 U.S. Cities
An, Q., Wejnert, C., Bernstein, K. T., Paz‐Bailey, G., & for the NHBS Study Group (2017) · JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes · doi:10.1097/qai.0000000000001412 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Spicknall, I. H., Gift, T. L., Bernstein, K. T., & Aral, S. O. (2017) · Sexually Transmitted Infections · doi:10.1136/sextrans-2016-052676 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Landovitz, R. J., Gildner, J. L., & Leibowitz, A. A. (2017) · Sexually Transmitted Diseases · doi:10.1097/olq.0000000000000695 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Factors Associated with Recent HIV Testing Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in New York City
Reilly, K., Neaigus, A., Jenness, S., Wendel, T., Marshall, D. M., & Hagan, H. (2014) · Aids and Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10461-013-0483-3 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Self-citationHoots, B., Torrone, E., Bernstein, K. T., & Paz‐Bailey, G. (2018) · Sexually Transmitted Diseases · doi:10.1097/olq.0000000000000786 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Neaigus, A., Reilly, K. H., Jenness, S. M., Wendel, T., Marshall, D. M., & Hagan, H. (2014) · Sexually Transmitted Diseases · doi:10.1097/olq.0000000000000144 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Self-citationBerry, S. A., Ghanem, K. G., Mathews, W. C., Korthuis, P. T., Yehia, B. R., Agwu, A. L., Lehmann, C. U., Moore, R. D., Allen, S. L., & Gebo, K. A. (2015) · JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes · doi:10.1097/qai.0000000000000711 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
the MDP team, Gafos, M., Pool, R., Mzimela, M. A., Ndlovu, H. B., McCormack, S., & Elford, J. (2013) · AIDS and Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10461-013-0676-9 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Dean, B. B., Scott, M., Hart, R. L. D., Battalora, L. A., Novák, R., Durham, M. D., Brooks, J. T., & Buchacz, K. A. (2017) · Sexually Transmitted Diseases · doi:10.1097/olq.0000000000000664 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Syphilis Screening and Diagnosis Among Men Who Have Sex with Men, 2008-2014, 20 U.S. Cities
Wejnert, C. (2016) · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- [14]Gelman A, Lee D, Stan Guo J.. J Educ Behav Stat 2015; 40(5): 530– 43.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines, 2021
Workowski, K. A., Bachmann, L. H., Chan, P. A., Johnston, C. M., Muzny, C. A., Park, I., Reno, H., Zenilman, J. M., & Bolan, G. A. (2021) · MMWR. Recommendations and Reports · doi:10.15585/mmwr.rr7004a1 · Cited by 2,759 · see citing works
Hui, B. B., Padeniya, T. N., Rebuli, N., Gray, R. T., Wood, J., Donovan, B. J., Duan, Q., Guy, R., Hocking, J. S., Lahra, M. M., et al. (2021) · The Journal of Infectious Diseases · doi:10.1093/infdis/jiab581 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Chandra, C., Weiss, K. M., Kelley, C. F., Marcus, J. L., & Jenness, S. M. (2020) · Clinical Infectious Diseases · doi:10.1093/cid/ciaa1033 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Self-citationWeiss, K. M., Jones, J. S., Anderson, E. J., Gift, T. L., Chesson, H. W., Bernstein, K. T., Workowski, K., Tuite, A. R., Rosenberg, E. S., Sullivan, P. S., et al. (2019) · Open Forum Infectious Diseases · doi:10.1093/ofid/ofz405 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Self-citationWeiss, K. M., Prasad, P. V., Ramaraju, R., Zlotorzynska, M., & Jenness, S. M. (2020) · JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes · doi:10.1097/qai.0000000000002300 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Self-citationHecht, J., Facente, S. N., Cohen, S. E., Menza, T. W., Trainor, N., Heumann, C. L., Juhász, M., & Sullivan, P. S. (2024) · Sexually Transmitted Diseases · doi:10.1097/olq.0000000000002058 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Yonko, E. A., Biello, K. B., Orellana, C. C., Richards, O. G., Wright, C. G., Aminzadeh, K., Mayer, K. H., & Mimiaga, M. J. (2025) · AIDS Patient Care and STDs · doi:10.1089/apc.2024.0252 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Lopez, E., & Bell, D. (2022) · AIDS Patient Care and STDs · doi:10.1089/apc.2022.0110 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Mimiaga, M. J., Tian, J., Chiu, I., Yonko, E. A., Noori, G., Aziz, N., Jamieson, B. D., Qian, Y., Alcaide, M. L., Augenbraun, M. H., et al. (2025) · Sexually Transmitted Infections · doi:10.1136/sextrans-2025-056508 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Antonini, M., Vettore, M. V., Øgård‐Repål, A., Rocha, D. D. M., Rocha, K. A. D. A., Elias, H. C., Barufaldi, F., Santana, R. D. C., Gir, E., Spire, B., et al. (2024) · BMC Infectious Diseases · doi:10.1186/s12879-024-09144-z · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Javanbakht, M., Miller, A. P., Moran, A., Ragsdale, A. M., Bolan, R., SHOPTAW, S. J., & Gorbach, P. M. (2022) · Sexually Transmitted Diseases · doi:10.1097/olq.0000000000001733 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Christensen, H., & Vickerman, P. T. (2021) · The Journal of Infectious Diseases · doi:10.1093/infdis/jiab582 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Dai, M., Xia, S., Calabrese, C., Ma, X., & Chen, T. (2024) · Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s10865-024-00524-z · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs): Men Who Have Sex with Men
Weller, A., Newland, A., & Frederick, D. A. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_2281-1
Català, A., Riera, J., & de Vega, I. F. (2025) · Actas Dermo-Sifiliográficas · doi:10.1016/j.ad.2024.11.028
Català, A., Riera, J., & de Vega, I. F. (2025) · Actas Dermo-Sifiliográficas · doi:10.1016/j.ad.2025.06.014
Parker, A. M., Jenness, S. M., Singer, B. J., Chang, J. J., Bruxvoort, K. J., & Lewnard, J. A. (2026) · Epidemiology · doi:10.1097/ede.0000000000002052
Self-citationChukwu, C. W., Aldila, D., Lawal, M. A., & Obaido, G. (2026) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2026.1841745
- Authors
- Jenness, S. M., Weiss, K. M., Prasad, P., Zlotorzynska, M., & Sanchez, T.
- Affiliations
- Emory University (US)
- Venue
- Sexually Transmitted Diseases
- Published
- 2019-01
- Volume
- 46
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 25-30
- ISSN
- 0148-5717 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-4521
- PMC
- PMC6292678
- OpenAlex
- W2884325556
- Cited by
- 18
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 1.13
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Sexually Transmitted Diseases (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R21MH112449)
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (P30AI050409)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Reproductive tract infections research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk
- Keywords
- bacterial sexually transmitted infections, men who have sex with men, asymptomatic screening, HIV status, sexual partners, racial disparities, targeted screening
- MeSH terms
- Sexual and Gender Minorities, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Bayes Theorem, Cross-Sectional Studies, Humans, Male, Mass Screening, Middle Aged, Sexual Behavior, United States, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Bacterial, HIV Infections, Homosexuality, Male, Young Adult, Asymptomatic Infections
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
