Researchers find disparities between rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea in straight and gay men

Homosexual men are often identified as one group that it at high risk for contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). However, a recent study published in the journal Infectious Diseases found that the odds of heterosexual men being diagnosed with one of these infections may actually increase at a more rapid rate than those of gay males.

The research involved more than 17,000 men who have sex with women (MSW) and nearly 16,000 men who have sex with men (MSM) who visited a sexual health clinic between 2002 and 2009.

The study's results showed that MSWs' risk of contracting chlamydia increased 4 percent each year, with more than 7 percent testing positive at the onset of the investigation. However, while nearly 9 percent of MSM were diagnosed with the STD during the first year, there was no significant increase in the percentage of these participants who were infected with chlamydia during the following years.

Researchers said similar findings were discovered in MSW and MSM who were tested for gonorrhea.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1.2 million and 300,000 cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea are diagnosed each year in the U.S., respectively.