Role of occupation as a risk factor for sexually transmitted disease: A case control study

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are a major public health problem. The epidemiology of STDs is distinctive because of common behavioral and biological features. Occupation is one of the socio-demographic factors, which not only act as a risk factor for acquiring STDs but also as a factor for the spread of the acquired infection. The information was collected about the nature of the occupation and it was categorized as unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, professional and housewives. Most of the subjects belonged to sexually active group. Male to female ratio was found to be 10.9:1. The majority of the cases of sexually transmitted diseases belonged to unskilled profession and most of these were unemployed. They also had twice higher risk of having STDs as compared to controls (OR=2; 95% CI= 1.013.95). The analysis of statistical parameters suggested that in this study 28% of the total cases of STD could be attributed to the unskilled profession and 50% to the job requiring frequent travel. Similarly, 15% of the total STD in population can be attributed to the unskilled profession; while only 5% can be attributed to the job requiring frequent travel. It can be concluded that occupation can be considered as a significant risk factor for acquiring sexually transmitted diseases. The unskilled and unemployed on one hand and those employed in occupations, which require frequent travel outside the place of residence, constitute the high-risk groups.