Factors associated with sexually transmitted infections among sexually active men in Ethiopia. Further analysis of 2016 Ethiopian demographic and health survey data

BACKGROUND: Sexually-transmitted infections are a public health problem in developing countries including Ethiopia. However, there is limited evidence on factors associated with sexually-transmitted infections among men in Ethiopia. Therefore, this analysis was done to fill this gap. METHODS: This analysis was done based on the 2016 Ethiopian demographic health survey data. The survey was a community-based cross-sectional study conducted from January 18 to June 27, 2016. The survey used two stage-stratified cluster sampling technique. A total of 8849 sexually active men were included in this analysis. Descriptive and analytical analyses were performed. A p-value of less than 0.05 was used to declare statistical significance. RESULTS: Muslim men (AOR = 1.68; 95%CI: 1.02–2.76), men who were not exposed to media (AOR = 1.75; 95%CI: 1.01–3.03) and men who had multiple sexual partners (AOR = 2.29; 95%CI: 1.05–5.01) had higher odds of having a sexually transmitted infection. In addition, men living in Amhara (AOR = 3.31; 95%CI: 1.33–8.22), Oromia (AOR = 4.62; 95%CI: 1.85–11.55), Gambella (AOR = 3.64; 95%CI: 1.27–10.42), and Harari regions (AOR = 4.57; 95%CI: 1.49–14.02) had higher odds of developing sexually transmitted infection. On the other hand, men who believe women are asked to use a condom if she knows he has STIs (AOR = 0.53; 95%CI: 0.33–0.85) had low odds of developing a sexually transmitted infection. CONCLUSIONS: Men not exposed to mass media, Muslims and men with multi-sexual partners had higher odds of having sexually transmitted infections. Encouraging monogamous relationships and exposing men to mass media may help to reduce the burden of STIs in Ethiopia.