Spain continues to break records for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The trend in cases has been increasing for decades, but the latest data show an alarming increase in infections, especially among young men. From 2021 to 2023 alone, gonorrhea cases increased 42.6% and syphilis 24.1%; while chlamydia has been growing at a rate of 20.7% each year since 2016.
This is what the Carlos III Health Institute points out in the report Epidemiological Surveillance of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Spain, 2023, published this Monday, and which warns of a “growing trend” of STIs in Spain since the beginning of the year 2000. Specifically, in 2023, 34,401 gonorrhea infections were reported throughout the country, with a rate of 71.54 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, that is, 26 times more than two decades ago. According to the report, the trend of gonococcal infections has been marked by three different periods: from 1995 to 2001 cases decreased by 25.4% per year; from 2001 to 2010 they rose 10.6% annually; between 2020 and 2021 20.1%; and in the last two years 42.6%.
The highest rates of gonorrhea in 2023 were recorded in Catalonia (165.30); Madrid (94.08); Basque Country (78.37); and Andalusia (58.64). While the lowest were reported in Ceuta (1.20); Melilla (2.34); Aragon (9.24); Castilla y León (12.59); and Extremadura (16.12). Although the document warns of the difficulty of comparing incidence rates between autonomous communities due to differences in their surveillance systems.
In eight out of ten cases of gonorrhea, the affected person was a man with a median age of 31 years, although in the case of women, the highest rates were observed in the 20 to 24 age range.
As for the syphilisthe Institute recorded 10,879 cases in 2023, with a rate of 22.62 per 100,000 inhabitants (10 times more than twenty years ago). As with gonorrhea, the trend a few decades ago was downward, but it began to grow in 2001 and since then cases have not decreased again. The increase has been especially notable since 2016, at a rate of 24% each year.
By communities, The Canary Islands was the autonomous community with the highest rate last year (53.91); followed by the Balearic Islands (33.97); Madrid (32.52); and Catalonia (30.54). Those with the lowest incidence were La Rioja (2.17); Castilla-La Mancha (3.36); and Aragon (6.11). As with gonococcal infection, the rates were higher in men (40.66) than in women (5.27) and The age group with the highest rates was 25 to 34 years old (64.97 per 100,000).
Cases of chlamydia around 20%, with the notification of 36,982 cases throughout the country and a national rate of 78.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Catalonia was, once again, the community with the highest incidence (194.56); next to Navarra (124.97); Basque Country (102.78); and Madrid (85.97). On the contrary, the lowest rates were recorded in Melilla (1.17); Aragon (5.52); Castilla y León (13.26); and Castilla-La Mancha (13.82). In this case, almost half of the affected people (46.6%) were women, with a median age of 28 years; although 16% were between 15 and 19 years old.
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