Association Between a History of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Reproductive Health Knowledge Among Adolescents of...

Adolescents are prone to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. It is key that they receive reproductive sexual education during secondary education, which can be important for the prevention of these events. This study aims to compare knowledge of reproductive health between adolescents with and without STI history. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 164 schoolchildren from a national school in Lima (Peru). The AA-20 short questionnaire and the t-test were used to demonstrate differences between students with and without a history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Twenty-six (15.9%) students had STIs (mean age 16.6 ± 2.3 years). The average knowledge in students with and without STIs was 15.4 ± 3.7 points and 14.7 ± 3.9 points, respectively (p = 0.417). Among students with and without a previous STI, it was found that the majority used some form of contraception (61.5% vs. 31.9%, p = 0.004) and had received talks on the topic (92.3% vs. 72.5%, p = 0.031). Condom use was the most commonly used method to prevent STIs in both groups. In conclusion, students with a previous STI had slightly better knowledge about pregnancy and infections than students without a history.