Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Cisgender Women Coming to a Walk-In Center

The general female population is not considered a high-risk group for screening for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This retrospective study describes the prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), <i>Treponema pallidum</i> (<i>T. pallidum</i>), <i>Chlamydia trachomatis</i> (<i>C. trachomatis</i>), <i>Neisseria gonorrhoeae</i> (<i>N. gonorrhoeae</i>), <i>Trichomonas vaginalis</i> (<i>T. vaginalis</i>), <i>Mycoplasma</i> spp., <i>Ureaplasma</i> spp., genital Herpes simplex virus (HSV), Monkeypox (mpox), Hepatitis B virus (HBV), and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in asymptomatic and symptomatic cisgender women attending our walk-in STI clinic for the first time. Furthermore, it analyzes the number of individuals who returned for follow-up and were diagnosed with new STIs. Over 20 months, 189 women with a median age of 28.4 years were screened [129 (68.3%) asymptomatic and 60 (31.8%) symptomatic]. In order of prevalence, the most common STIs were: <i>Ureaplasma</i> spp. infections (50.3%), <i>C. trachomatis</i> (10.6%), <i>N. gonorrhoeae</i> (5.8%), <i>Mycoplasma hominis</i> infections (5.8%), <i>T. pallidum</i> (2.65%), HSV2 infections (2.65%), and mpox (0.53%). No diagnosis of HIV, trichomoniasis, HBV, or HCV was registered. After the initial evaluation, 128 (67.7%) women returned for follow-up, but only 43 (22.8%) repeated screening; among them, 11 (25.6%) were diagnosed with new STIs. Given the high prevalence of STIs in cisgender women, awareness measures to improve screening and prevention strategies in this neglected population are required.