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Incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is rising sharply in the United States. Between 2014 and 2019, incidence among men and women has increased by 62.8% and 21.4%, respectively, with an estimated 68 million Americans contracting an STI in 2018.a Some human behaviors impacting the expanding STI epidemic are unprotected sex and multiple sexual partners.b Increasing dating app usage has been postulated as a driver for increases in the numbers of people engaging in these behaviors. Using the proposed model, it is estimated that both STI incidence and prevalence for females and males have increased annually by 9%–15% between 2015 and 2019 due to dating apps usage, and that STI incidence and prevalence will continue to increase in the future. The model is also used to assess the possible benefit of in-app prevention campaigns.
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Estimating the structure by age and sex of the US sexually active population
A model combines demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau for 2021 with survey data on sexual activity from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to estimate the structure by age and sex of the sexually active population in the United States. It also provides the proportions of newly sexually active people by age and sex. The model is based on percentages of sexually active people by age and sex, and on an ordinary differential equation formalizing a “learning process” for the years 2009 to 2019. The data produced fit well with the empirical data for each age and sex.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2150492
- PAR ID:
- 10492820
- Publisher / Repository:
- Taylor & Francis
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Mathematical Population Studies
- ISSN:
- 0889-8480
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 11
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Age and sex structure newly sexually active ordinary differential equations population model sexually active
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1080/08898480.2024.2301868
