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In the News

1. How Many American High Schoolers Are Having Sex?

According to the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted by the Center's for Disease Control, 46.7% of American High Schoolers have "ever had sex". That leaves 56.3% who have not! And, this does not include teens who HAVE had sex but then decided on abstinence. Abstinence is a good decision. Try it!

2. New STD Statistics Released by the CDC

Recently the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the report Sexually Transmitted Diseases Surveillance, 2008,1 an annual update of sexually transmitted infection (STI) statistics and trends in the US. This report includes national STI data from 1941-2008, enabling the CDC to describe the trends as well as the current state of sexual health in the US. The annual report includes information submitted from all 50 states and many other sources. So, how did the US population fare in 2008 as it pertains to STIs? Chlamydia continues to be the most commonly reported bacterial STI in the US, topping 1.2 million cases for the first time. Chlamydia infection rates have risen almost 400% in the last 20 years. Improved screening and diagnostic tests are responsible for much of the increase in infection rates over the last 2 decades. Because chlamydia infection does not cause symptoms in most people, many infections are never diagnosed or reported. However, a true increase in infection prevalence is probably responsible for part of the rise as well. Females aged 15-19 years continue to have the highest rate of this infection, followed closely by females aged 20-24 years. Certain racial/ethnic groups continue to be disproportionately affected by this infection, with rates among blacks and Hispanics that are about 8 times and 3 times the rate of chlamydia infection in whites, respectively. Gonorrhea, the second most commonly reported bacterial STI in the US, experienced a small decline in rates in 2008. Gonorrhea rates fell 74% from 1975 through 1997, after which the rates seemed to stabilize. Despite the overall decrease in gonorrhea infection rates in the US over the last two decades, certain racial and ethnic groups continue to suffer disproportionately. Gonorrhea infection rates are 20 times higher in blacks and 2 times higher in Hispanics than among whites. As in previous years, females aged 15-19 years have the highest infection rates, followed closely by females aged 20-24 years. Syphilis, a bacterial STI that was once considered a candidate for elimination, continues its rise in the US. Between 1990 and 2000, rates of early stage syphilis fell by almost 90%. However, since 2000, syphilis infection rates have increased every year. Between 2007 and 2008, syphilis rates increased over 13%. Unlike the other bacterial STIs mentioned above, the recent resurgence in syphilis is concentrated in men who have sex with men. The highest rates of new infection occurred among males aged 20-24 years and 25-29 years. Similar to other bacterial STIs, though, racial disparities persist in reported syphilis cases. Compared to whites, blacks and Hispanics have about 8 times and 2 times the rate of new infections, respectively. Because this CDC publication only calculates infection rates for notifiable diseases, i.e., diseases that must be reported to local or state authorities when a diagnosis is made, many STIs are not included. HPV, genital herpes, and trichomoniasis are among the important STIs that are not notifiable. Also, surveillance information about HIV, which is a notifiable disease, is published in a separate report. Therefore, the 2008 STD surveillance report is not an exhaustive account of the status of STIs in the US. However, the information that is conveyed in the recent surveillance report does point to the continued and, in some cases, increased transmission of several STIs. As always, adolescents and young adults bear the brunt of the STI epidemic. The widespread prevalence of STIs among American youth will undoubtedly result in serious long term health consequences and heavy costs to society. In light of this, MI continues to advocate risk avoidance and remains devoted to the prevention of these infections. By doing so, we hope to foster an environment that allows youth everywhere the opportunity to achieve their full potential and maintain the greatest measure of health. Source: Medical Institute for Sexual Health (http://www.medinstitute.org/public/272.cfm) References: 1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 2008. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; November 2009. Available at: http://cdc.gov/std/stats08/main.htm. Accessed: 2009 November 24.

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