Chlamydia Infection Among Digital Daters and Nondigital Daters.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate whether the use of dating apps is a risk factor for acquiring Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infections.

Methods: Patients attending the drop-in facility at the STI clinic at Umeå University Hospital between April 2016 and November 2017 were asked to fill in a survey about their sexual preferences and behaviors, including dating app use.

Results: Of 943 participants, 80 (8.5%) received a CT diagnosis (34 women and 46 men). Dating app users did not seem to have an increased risk of CT infection. Having 3 or more sex partners within the last year was a risk factor for CT only among those not using a dating app. Alcohol use before sex and unprotected sex with a new partner were risk factors for CT infection in the univariate but not in the multivariate analysis.

Conclusions: Dating app users did not seem to have an increased risk of acquiring CT and for dating app users the seemingly well-established risk factor of having many partners was not valid.