[Sexual activity and sexually transmitted diseases in high school students in Rio Branco-Acre, Brazil]

Sexual behavior of school-aged adolescents in the city of Goiânia, Goiás

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the characteristics of sexual behavior in school-aged adolescents and possible differences regarding sex and type of school.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study using data from the National Adolescent School-based Health Survey (PeNSE) 2009, carried out by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, in partnership with the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The sample consisted of 3,099 9th graders living in Goiânia, State of Goiás, Brazil, mostly aged between 13 to 15 years old, who answered a self-applicable questionnaire on risk and protective health factors. The Rao-Scott test was used in the statistical analysis, considering the complex sample design.

RESULTS

The prevalence of sexual intercourse was of 26.5% (95%CI 23.8 - 29.4) at least once in life and of 18.5% (95%CI 16.5 - 20.8) in the last year. Both behaviors were more frequent among male students and among those attending public schools. Most of the respondents had their first intercourse at the age of 13 or younger, with up to 3 partners. They had also used a pregnancy prevention method in the last intercourse, and received guidance on prevention at school. The age of the first intercourse was earlier and the number of partners was higher among male students. More females and those attending public schools reported having received information on pregnancy prevention. Guidance on STD/AIDS was also more frequent in public schools.

CONCLUSION

Results showed a need for health education measures involving education and health professionals, as well as parents, to reduce the discrepancies found regarding sex and type of school.

Saúde sexual dos adolescentes segundo a Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde dos Escolares

O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever as situações relacionadas à saúde sexual dos adolescentes, segundo a Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar (PeNSE). Trata-se de um estudo transversal, realizado pelo Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) em parceria com o Ministério da Saúde, que envolveu 60.973 escolares e 1.453 escolas públicas e privadas. A análise dos dados aponta que 30,5% (IC95% 29,9-31,2) dos adolescentes já tiveram relação sexual alguma vez na vida, sendo mais frequente em meninos (43,7%; IC95% 42,7-44,7) do que em meninas (18,7%; IC95% 18,0-19,4), naqueles que estudam em escola pública (33,1%; IC95% 32,4-33,9), com idade acima de 15 anos (47,3%; IC95% 45,7-48,9) e aos 16 anos (63,5%; IC95% 61,5-65,4). A idade de iniciação sexual foi precoce e 40,1% dos adolescentes (IC95% 38,8-41,4) relataram ter tido um único parceiro na vida. O uso do preservativo na ultima relação sexual foi elevado tanto para proteção (75,9%; IC95% 74,8-76,9), como também para método contraceptivo na última relação sexual (74,7%; IC95% 73,6-75,7). Torna-se necessário enfatizar ações de promoção à saúde sexual voltadas aos adolescentes, visando minimizar vulnerabilidades.