This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Syphilis rate increased 50% among armed services over 5-year period

From 2010 to 2014, the rate of primary and secondary syphilis increased by 49.1% among active members of the U.S. military, according to a report from the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center.

“The increasing incidence of syphilis in military members is of significant public health concern because this finding suggests that some service members have been engaging in unsafe sexual practices that increase the likelihood of acquisition of other sexually transmitted infections (including HIV),” the researchers wrote.

The researchers analyzed data from the Defense Medical Surveillance System to assess the rates and incidence cases of syphilis from 2010 to August 2015 among active duty military members. 

Results demonstrated that during the study period, there were 2,976 syphilis diagnoses.

In 2014, the crude incidence rate of syphilis was 46.1 cases per 100,000 person years, up from 30.9 cases per 100,000 person-years in 2010. In the first 8 months of 2015, the crude incidence rate of syphilis was 47.4 cases per 100,000 person-years.

More than 88% of syphilis cases were in men. Service members between the ages of 20 and 29 years accounted for the 61.6% of the cases. The highest rate of syphilis was among black service members, which was nearly double the rate of Hispanics.

“Developing and implementing syphilis prevention measures targeting service members at high risk of acquisition should continue to be promoted as well as continuation of aggressive sexual partner notification programs,” the researchers concluded. – by Casey Hower

Disclosures: Healio.com/Family Medicine was unable to confirm relevant financial disclosures at the time of publication.