Letter to the Editor: Syphilis and disadvantage in rural communities

Although research recognizes the association between socioeconomic gradients and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), the role of social capital, social cohesion and social networks in the spread of STIs, there is very little information of the association between socioeconomic status and STIs. In a study in an area health service in Northern New South Wales, Australia a sample of 254 syphilis notifications over an 11 year period from 1994 to 2004 was used to examine if there was a relationship between socioeconomic status and syphilis notifications. An area-based measure, aggregated from census information was used as a proxy to assess the socioeconomic position of people and small areas. Data was divided into three equal groupings called tertiles and were identified as low, medium and high disadvantage.