Contraceptive Practices of Women Attending the Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic in Nashville, Tennessee

The decision to be sexually active involves two health risks for women: unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Use of contraception affects both these risks. Data from the Metropolitan Health Department in Nashville, Tennessee, were examined to determine the effects of particular contraceptive methods on gonococcal infection in women. The results suggest that not only barrier methods but also other types of contraception were associated with protection against gonorrhea in females. The use of contraception was unusually high (87%) among the study population of 1,303 women. Five hundred eighteen (40%) of these clinic attendees were infected with Neisseria gonorrhoea. Infected women tended to be younger than those not infected and were significantly more likely to be black than white and somewhat more likely to be single. Contraceptors tended to be younger and were more likely to be black than were noncontraceptors.