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November 28, 2009
HealthDay News — As many as one in four U.S. teenage girls have had a sexually transmitted disease (STD), many infected soon after their first sexual encounter, a new government report shows. “The high burden of STDs among teen girls reminds us that we can’t ignore this,” said study author Dr. Sami L. Gottlieb, from the division of sexually transmitted disease prevention at the U.S. Centers for Disease and Prevention. “Sexual health is an important part of the overall health and well-being of teenagers,” Gottlieb added. “For too long, we as a nation have been far too squeamish about sexual health issues for teens, but we owe it to our kids to get over it.”
The report is published online Nov. 23 and in the December print issue of the journal Pediatrics.
For the study, Gottlieb’s team collected data on 838 teen girls aged 14 to 19. Using samples provided by the teens, the researchers looked for Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Trichomonas vaginalis, herpes simplex virus type 2 and human papillomavirus (HPV).
The study authors found that 24.1 percent of the girls had one of these STDs and among girls who were sexually experienced, 37.7 percent had an STD. HPV was the most common infection (18.3 percent), followed by chlamydia (3.9 percent).
Moreover, in the year after having their first sexual experience and with only one sex partner, 19.2 percent of the teens developed an STD, Gottlieb’s group found.
To counter these problems, teens need to have early sex education, Gottlieb noted. “The vast majority of people have sex for the first time during their teenage years, so we need them to be prepared,” she said.
In addition, Gottlieb believes that 11- and 12-year-old girls should get the HPV vaccine. “We have an effective and safe vaccine that can prevent most of the bad consequences of HPV infection — cervical cancer,” she stated.
Teen girls and young women should also have a yearly test for chlamydia, Gottlieb said. “This can prevent some of the adverse consequences of chlamydia, such a pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility,” she stressed.
Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine, said that “the authors make a convincing case that rates of both sexual activity and sexually transmitted infections are high in adolescent females in the U.S.”
These are the facts of epidemiology, not ideology, and should be the basis for public health policy, he said.
“Adolescent girls need early access to comprehensive sex education, and barrier contraceptives,” Katz said. “This will not increase sexual activity, but it will attenuate the resultant harms.”
This study also makes a strong case for routine vaccination against HPV, as it is the most common sexually transmitted infection, Katz said. “Since HPV is often acquired so soon after the initiation of sexual activity, early vaccination is the way to go. I speak on this as the father of two young teenage daughters, both of whom have received the Gardasil vaccine,” he added.
Another report released by the CDC last week provided more statistics.
Teen girls aged 15 to 19 accounted for the largest number (409,531) of the 1.5 million reported chlamydia and gonorrhea cases in the United States in 2008, followed by women aged 20 to 24, according to the annual federal report.
The researchers also found that black females continue to have a higher rate of STDs than any other racial or ethnic group.
Last year, there were about 1.2 million reported cases of chlamydia and nearly 337,000 reported cases of gonorrhea in the United States, according to the report.
More information
For more information on STDs, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
SOURCES: Sami L. Gottlieb, M.D., M.S.P.H., division of sexually transmitted disease prevention, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta; David L. Katz, M.D., M.P.H., director, Prevention Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn.; Nov. 23, 2009, Pediatrics, online
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This study reeks of inflated bullshit. HPV? Get real now. This study uses inflationary language. And where was this study conducted, Chicago public high? This is definitely playing to someone’s agenda.
Either way Tommothy, there is a horrible sex education program in the US. Prevention is better than dealing with a pandemic later down the road. Right now there are 838 studied woman that are known to carry a disease. There is also a reported 1.5 million that do have an STD. 25% is still a lot for for a small sample number.
The highest teen STD rates occur in enlighted American cities where extensive and early sex education has been in place for generations.
AWESOME observation Tommothy! Sorry Anon, this entire article is, in fact, based on inflated information and a severely flawed study. This entire 1 in 4 non-sense is a media-propagated myth! Search for Birth of Number by Neil Munro on google for the article that debunks this myth. It should be on the NCPA website.
Just because information comes from a government agency, does not always mean it is is true! Always, always double-check any info that’s presented to you. Here’s to being more conscientious consumers of information!
Sorry Rochlin and the other ideologues…
The highest STD rates are among conservative, bible-thumping states that scoff at providing sexual health education to teens in highschool.
Take a look: rates for three most common STDS
1 Louisiana (12.4) Mississippi (745.1) Mississippi (285.7)
2 Alabama (8.3) Alaska (732.9) Louisiana (259.7)
3 Georgia (7.3) South Carolina (611.7) South Carolina (239.0)
4 Maryland (6.1) Alabama (546.9) Alabama (236.7)
5 Tennessee (6.1) New Mexico (484) Georgia (190.5)
6 California (5.6) Georgia (458.3) North Carolina (188.2)
7 Texas (4.7) Louisiana (451.6) Delaware (176.0)
8 Florida (5) Tennessee (444.9) Missouri (169)
9 Texas (4.9) Hawaii (440.2) Illinois (162.2)
10 Arizona (4.8) Illinois (432.3) Tennessee (158.4)
I’m so sick of the media making everything “female centred”.
If 1 in 4 teenage girls have had an STD, which I think is a load of BS, by the way, doesn’t that also mean there is a good number of teenage boys who have been infected as well.
I continually see articles about teenage girls being abused, teenage girls turning to alcohol, teenage girls having sex – as if teenage boys are somehow immune from all this. All I ever hear about teenage boys is teenage boys joining gangs, teenage boys stealing cars, etc. As if girls don’t do these things either.
Pull your heads out of your asses. And Rochlin, perhaps you can start. Cite reputable sources for your bullshit or keep your mouth shut.
xxxx zzzzz oooooooooooo sexxxxxxxxxx
[...] Original Story [...]
how many teenage boys have an std?
*sigh* where to start…
Tommothy-
Despite your dismissal, HPV is in fact an STD. Additionally, I think we can safely assume that a CDC study is using a sample population representative of the U.S.
Rochlin-
I assume you are referring to the fact that the highest density of cases occur in cities? This only makes sense, as cities also host the highest population density. If, in fact, you are saying the percentage of the population in ‘enlightened American cities’ is higher, can you give us a citation? Also, I find it odd that you seem to use that phrase (enlightened American cities) in a derisive fashion. Enlightenment is a -good- thing.
Amanda-
Do you believe we landed on the moon? That vaccines cause autism? That Obama is Kenyan? I could go on, but why bother.
Carlos-
Wow, angry much? Also, thank you for calling out Rochlin. I’d ask the same of lo
B I do believe we landed on the moon, vaccines could cause autism COULD and last time I checked our current president is Hawaiian and if you could go on I would love to hear it. btw I agree with some points that the comments and as me I normally question everything the same whether it ranges from that Viagra email spam or our fellow government. so these numbers could be inflated they could not
BTW, im 13 so yeah way to be mature although you might be younger than me
P.S. now if you were to ask me about religion you would get a much much shorter answer ;D
lyke omg! BTW, Im 11, duz that mayke me kewl?
About half of all women and men in USA have or had HPV. It’s a mostly harmless virus that you may not even know you have. It doesn’t affect most of the men in any way, and it might affect women in a number of ways, but it is also very common for it to remain dormant forever. So even though it’s technically STD, it’s not all that scary.
Still the point of lacking sex education is valid. America is too conservative when it comes to it. Oh well, we pay for it.
Who ever wrote this article needs to really understand thier material before putting it to paper.
Firstly, “have had a STD” is incorrect, a STD is a disease, as there is no cure for HPV, Herpes, ect you cannot “have had” that is simply bad english.
Secondly, chlamydia and gonorrhea are not STD’s they are STI’s they are infections, which can be cured through simple antibiotics.
STD’s are NOT STI’s, this article refers to each in the wrong context multiple times, please go back and correct this, if treated chlamydia and gonorrhea have almost no recurring symtoms or side effects, this is not true for STD’s
[...] & Earthquakes Meat Grown In Laboratory In World First 10 Surprising Reasons Sex Is Good For You 1 in 4 Teen Girls Have a Sexually Transmitted Disease The Matrix: The Lego [...]
A recent survey by Prom Date Depot found that thirty percent of teens don’t stop having sex once they find out they have a transferable STD…
how many teenage boys have an std??
@everyone here:
[citation needed]
I know that the self righteous PC types would never really want to get into the percentages of minorities that this involves and those whites (mainly females of course) that have sex with them.
But this is going to happen in urban areas more, not due to density of population or other factors, but in the total breakdown of morality, no fathers, and other problems common place in the minority communities.
Try and deny it when you also look at the rate of pregnancy involving black male fathers. It’s matches up perfectly with the ratios involving STDs.
But again, who among the PC will ever want to admit this?
Yeah, reminds me of how back in the day how scientists would shamelessly promote penicillin when talking to the media. What a bunch of hacks….
This is the reason why I only have sex with 3 out of 4 teen girls.
Where did they conduct their research, Whore High school?
I doubt that the States with the highest rates of STD (see former chart)have anything to do with Bible punching – it is more likely to do with culture and other factors. Making wide-spread claims from a mere 830 or so samples is ridiculous. How can researchers make a broad statement from so few samples when other factors such as urban vs. rural, family structure, schooling, class status, social practices and so on need to also be considered. It always amazes me how Americans are so naive and accepting when it comes to having statistics jammed down their throats. I think that the writers were promoting their own agenda.
Cartman: I told him. The woman’s mouth is the most germ-ridden place, I said. Statistically the most unsafe place for a man to put his penis, I said.
Kyle: Well, now we know.
Cartman: And knowing is half the battle.
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With the numbers so high, it is time that people recognize that their children may be sexually active far earlier than they might wish or expect. Teens need to be educated about sex very early to ensure they take the necessary steps to protect themselves.