(P210) TRENDS IN USERS CONCERNS ABOUT STIS AND SYPHILIS DISCUSSION THEMES ON SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE SUBCOMMUNITY ON REDDIT, 2010-2022

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

4:15 PM - 5:15 PM EST

Primary Author(s)

Larry He, MSc (he/him/his)

ORISE Fellow
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Co-Author(s)(s)

GT

Guoyu Tao, PhD

Health Scientist
CDC, Georgia, United States
Laura A. S Quilter, MD, MPH (she/her/hers)

Medical Officer
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Chirag G. Patel, DC, MPH

Associate Service Fellow
Center of Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Background:
The online sexually transmitted disease (STD) Reddit subcommunity (‘subreddit’) allows users to anonymously post STD related questions and experiences and receive comments from other users. Our study aims to identify trends in users’ concerns about STIs and most prevalent syphilis-related discussion topics.

Methods:
Among all posts from the subreddit, we measured post demographics, post frequency over time, and frequency of specific STD mentions overall (from 2010-2022). Topic modeling was applied to all posts with syphilis mentions to identify common themes by symptoms, self-reported sexual behaviors and syphilis tests. We manually validated a random sample of 100 posts mentioning syphilis on these themes and classified posts as being focused on syphilis, general STIs, and/or other non-syphilis STIs.

Results:
Post frequency increased from 42 posts in 2010 to 4,868 posts in 2018 and increased quickly to 15,489 posts in 2022. Among posters who shared demographic information (1.8), 35.3% and 64.7% self-identified as female and male, respectively, and the average age was 23 years old. The most mentioned STDs in posts as a proportion of all STD mentions were HIV/AIDS (31.4%), herpes (16.5%), and chlamydia (16.1%). Syphilis was 7.4% of all STD mentions from 2011-2022, and this proportion increased from 4.1% in 2011 to 10.3% in 2022. Of 100 posts reviewed, 41.0% and 36.0% were focused on syphilis and general STI, respectively; of those focused on syphilis or general STI, 47.4%, 24.2%, and 54.7% mentioned any symptoms, sexual behaviors, and syphilis tests, respectively.

Conclusion:
Our study has shown a rapid increase in the number of posts in the STD subreddit from 2010-2022 along with increasing syphilis concerns related to their symptoms and syphilis testing. There are opportunities to promote and guide people to online scientific messaging tailored to address common concerns for STIs.