Objective: To determine the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and high risk factors for acquisition in preventive prisoners in Catalonia.
Methods: Cross-sectional study of a convenience sample of 478 prisoners aged between 18 and 35 years was analysed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect behavioural data. Significant differences were analysed in the descriptive study using Pearson's χ(2). The association between CT and its determinants was analysed using the Mantel-Haenszel test and a multivariate logistic regression model.
Results: The overall prevalence of CT was 5.4%. The independent risk factors for infection by CT were as follows: foreign origin, having had concurrent sexual partners, and alcohol consumption.
Conclusions: This is the first study performed in prisons of Catalonia that shows the prevalence of CT in young prisoners. The high mobility of young detainees could explain the similarity in prevalence obtained about young people in Catalonia. Systematic monitoring of CT infection in young preventive prisoners is important in order to prevent further problems in themselves and in the general population, since they become a 'bridge population' in sexually transmissible infection spreading.