Social factors in homosexually acquired venereal disease. Comparison between Sweden and Australia.

The prevalence of venereal disease was studied in homosexuals in two countries, Sweden and Australia, which are similar apart from their different legal and social attitudes to homosexuality. Social attitudes were not generally associated with differences in the numbers of infections and reinfections in homosexual men with sexually transmitted diseases. Using a non-clinical sample there was some evidence that sexually transmitted diseases in homosexuals are grossly overestimated if cases rather than individuals are used as an index. Furthermore, the incidence of syphilis was related to the numbers of partners and the latency of symptoms in both societies.