Awareness of sexually-transmitted diseases and risky sexual behavior in bipolar patients: a comparative study with healthy controls/Iki uclu duygudurum bozuklugu olan hastalarda cinsel yolla bulasan hastaliklar hakkindaki bilgi duzeyi ve riskli cinsel davranislar: saglikli kontrol grubu ile karsilastirmali bir calisma

Objective: It is known that patients with bipolar mood disorder have a high risk of acquiring sexually-transmitted diseases ISTDI. The objective of this study was to evaluate bipolar outpatients regarding their knowledge on STD and possible high risk sexual behaviors, and to compare both sexes in patient group and patients with healthy controls. Method: A total of 129 outpatients with DSM-IV Bipolar Disorder IBPI in remission state and 98 healthy controls were included in the study. Participants were given a demographic questionnaire, an evaluation form about awareness of sexually-transmitted diseases, and a semi-structured form on risky sexual behavior to assess patients sexual behavior during acute episodes of their illness. Results: In general, level of information about STD was very low. The most known STD was AIDS. 43% (n=55) of bipolar patients reported increased sexual activity during acute episodes. In BP group both sexes displayed high-risk sexual activity, but male patients especially seemed to have more risky behavior. Discussion: It is noteworthy that, although methods of protection from diseases were known to some degree, they were applied properly in neither groups nor sexes. It seems that not only BP patients but general population also need to be informed and educated on risky sexual behavior. (Archives of Neuropsychiatry 2009, 46: 52-60) Keywords: Bipolar affective disorder, risky sexual behavior, sexually-transmitted diseases Amac: Iki uclu duygudurum bozuklugu olan hastalann (IUDB) cinsel yolla bulasan hastaliklara (CYBH) yakalanma risklerinin yuksek oldugu bilinmektedir. Bu hastalarin CYBH hakkindaki duzeyleri ve olasi cinsel riskli davranislarini saptamak ve bunlari hem cinsiyete hem de saglikli kontrol grubuna gore karsilastirmak amaclandi. Yontem: DSM-IV tani olcutlerine gore remisyon donemindeki IUDB olan 129 hasta ile 98 kisiden olusan normal kontrol grubu olmak uzere toplam 227 olgu calismaya alindi. Tum olgulara tarafimizdan hazirlanmis olan sosyo-demografik veri formu, CYBH hakkindaki bilgilerini olcen farkindalik formu ile atak gecirdikleri donemlerdeki davranislarini saptamayi amaclayan yan yapilandirilmis cinsel riskli davranislar formu uygulandi. Bulgular: CYBH hakkindaki bilgi duzeyi tum olgularda oldukca dusuk bulundu. Cinsel yolla bulastigi en fazla bilinen hastalik AIDS olarak saptandi. IUDB hastalarini %43'unde (n=55) hastaligin aktif donemlerinde cinsel aktivite sikliginin da arttigi saptandi. IUDB grubunda her iki cin