Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among females presenting after sexual assault in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Authors

Paulo Roberto Sokoll, Rodrigo de Souza Bulhões, Mandy Bronner, Matthias David

Published in

Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Oct 16, 2026. Epub Oct 16, 2026.

Abstract

Female individuals are disproportionately affected by sexual assault, which may result in physical, reproductive, and psychological consequences, including exposure to sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Evidence on STI prevalence among female participants presenting after sexual assault in Europe remains limited.
To systematically review and synthesise STI prevalence among female participants presenting after sexual assault in Europe.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence. The protocol was registered in the Open Science Framework (DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/WNX48).
PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched from inception to June 2026. Reporting followed PRISMA 2020.
Observational studies reporting STI prevalence among female participants presenting after sexual assault in Europe.
Female participants presenting after sexual assault in European settings.
Not applicable.
Risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Studies Reporting Prevalence Data.
Pooled prevalence was estimated using random-effects generalised linear mixed models. Between-study heterogeneity was assessed using τ² and 95% prediction intervals where appropriate. Site-specific and subgroup analyses, meta-regression, leave-one-out analyses, and Freeman-Tukey sensitivity analyses were performed.
Fifteen studies involving 2,992 female participants were included. Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) had the highest pooled prevalence (7.5%, 95% CI 6.1-9.3), followed by human papillomavirus (HPV) (6.2%, 95% CI 1.2-27.5), Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) (4.5%, 95% CI 2.5-8.0), Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) (3.6%, 95% CI 1.6-7.9), and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) (1.6%, 95% CI 0.7-3.5). Site-specific CT prevalence was 9.2% urogenitally, 4.4% anorectally, and 1.0% oropharyngeally.
Infections cannot be assumed to have resulted from the assault. Findings should be interpreted in light of limited study numbers and clinical and methodological heterogeneity. They support comprehensive post-assault STI assessment and may inform clinical practice and future research.

PMID:
42887636
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 17 Oct 2026.

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