Human behavior is closely related to the evolution of sexually transmitted infections, and this paper talks about the impact of the determinants of the STI on disease prevalence and transmission. The paper lists numerous factors that influence infectious disease emergence, including ecological change, human demographics and behavior, international travel and commerce, technology and industry, and microbial adaptation and change. Usually, the combinations of multiple factors that are happening simultaneously affect the transmission of the disease. In addition, the review states that the most direct influence on the evolution of sexually transmitted infections is sexuality and sexual behavior. In order to establish how infectious disease is spread, evaluation of individual sexual behaviors, types of exposure, and the impact of economic, social and structural factor is required. The large variation in age structure in a population has been recognized as crucial factor in the spread of STIs.
Although the determinants of STI prevalence such as urbanization, migration, and poverty were around for a long time, the relatively recent industrialization caused greater economic inequality and changing migration patterns that facilitated the spread of STIs into new populations. The norms may also influence the spread of STIs and size of the population susceptible to STIs. The paper also states that public health and medicine have both positive and negative effects on STI control. Behavioral interventions such as giving sex education, prevention of disease progression, and giving vaccines against HPV strains have been developed to give positive effects. In contrast, the introduction of oral contraceptives and Viagra has increased sexual risk behavior.
In conclusion, the writer emphasizes that human developments affect the spread of sexually transmitted disease agent and its pathogenesis. For example, economic and gender inequality, increased mobility, and global variability of sexual behavior affect the evolution of the agents by changing age structures, unequal gender rates, and globalization.
Citation: Nahmias, S. B. and Nahmias, D. (2011), Society, sex, and STIs: human behavior and the evolution of sexually transmitted diseases and their agents. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1230: 59–73. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06079.x