Demographic and behavioral characteristics of male sexually transmitted disease patients in Japan: a nationwide case-control study.

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) increased rapidly in Japan during the 1990s.

Methods: To determine the epidemiologic characteristics of STI patients, male cases (n = 765) from 21 clinics across Japan and controls from the general population (n = 1,167), both aged 18 to 59 years, were compared using two datasets of nationwide sexual behavior surveys conducted in 1999.

Results: Male STI patients were more likely to be <40 years of age (OR = 3.