China's syphilis epidemic: a systematic review of seroprevalence studies

The objective of this study was to investigate syphilis prevalence among low- and high-risk groups in China.

The goal of this study was to explore the magnitude of China's syphilis epidemic.

A systematic literature review of syphilis seroprevalence studies in China was performed searching PubMed and the Chinese Periodicals Database (CPD).

Five and 169 studies were retrieved from PubMed and the CPD, respectively. From 2000 to 2005, select low-risk groups had the following median syphilis prevalence: antenatal women (0.45%), premarital individuals (0.66%), and food and service employees (0.3%). Select high-risk groups had the following median prevalence: incarcerated female sex workers (12.49%), drug users (6.81%), and men who have sex with men (14.56%). In the last decade, prevalence has increased in all groups with the steepest rises seen among high-risk groups.

Syphilis infection is increasing among low- and high-risk groups in China, suggesting unsafe sexual behavior that may accelerate HIV transmission and challenge current syphilis prevention and control efforts.