UCSF

BACKGROUND: Pubic hair grooming has been correlated with a self-reported history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). We examined this relationship further in a cross-sectional survey of patients attending an urban STI clinic in San Francisco in 2018. METHODS: Pubic hair grooming practices and detailed sexual histories were obtained. Sexually transmitted infections were confirmed via laboratory diagnosis or physical examination by a licensed provider. RESULTS: A total of 314 individuals completed the survey. The median age of participants was 31 years. In total, there were 247 (80%) men, 58 (19%) women, and 5 (2%) transgender participants. Of the 247 men, 177 (72%) identified as gay or bisexual. Twenty-five (82%) of 314 patients reported pubic hair grooming within the past 3 months. Seventy-eight (25%) patients were diagnosed with a new STI during their visit. There were no significant associations between reporting any anal or genital grooming and being diagnosed with an STI. However, anal groomers were 3 times as likely to be diagnosed with a rectal STI after adjustment (adjusted odds ratio, 3.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-7.5) compared with genital only groomers and nongroomers. Participants who report removing all of their pubic hair more than 6 times within the past year had higher prevalence of genital STIs (33.3%, 6-10 times; 28.6%, >10 times) compared with participants who never groom all of their pubic hair (15.3%, P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: We found no association between recent grooming and genital STIs. Anal grooming was associated with rectal STIs in gay and bisexual men.