The Impact of Sexual Literacy on Adolescent Pregnancy in Colombia.

The present study investigates the association between receiving information on sexual-literacy topics and likelihood of experiencing adolescent pregnancy.Cross-sectional analysis; SETTING: Colombia; PARTICIPANTS: 8,525 adolescents (13-19 years-old) MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Our primary outcome of interest was teenage pregnancy RESULTS: We created a gradation of public health impact variable that ranged from grade 1 (least impactful) to grade 4 (most impactful) to determine which sexuality-related topics were most strongly associated with teenage pregnancy. We found that not receiving information on grade 4 topics had the strongest association with adolescent pregnancy. These topics were: changes related to puberty (PR: 2.15; 95% CI: 1.40, 3.30), how sex organs work (PR: 1.90; 95% CI: 1.37, 2.66), and sexual orientation (PR: 1.84; 95% CI: 1.38, 2.44). In fact, teenagers who did not receive information on any sexuality-related topic were about 75% more likely (PR: 1.73; 95% CI: 1.09-2.74) to experience a teenage pregnancy.The gradation levels of this study could guide sexual education programs in Colombia to prioritize sexuality-related themes, especially when resources are limited.