[NPInfo] One in four!

[David Mittman]



March 12, 2008

One in Four Women in Teens Have S.T.D.’s, Study Finds

By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN
The first national study of four common sexually transmitted diseases  
among girls and young women has found that one in four are infected  
with at least one of the diseases, federal health officials reported  
Tuesday.

Nearly half the African-Americans in the study of teenagers ages 14  
to 19 were infected with at least one of the diseases monitored in  
the study — human papillomavirus (HPV), chlamydia, genital herpes  
and trichomoniasis, a common parasite.

The 50 percent figure compared with 20 percent of white teenagers,  
health officials and researchers said at a news conference at a  
scientific meeting in Chicago.

The two most common sexually transmitted diseases, or S.T.D.’s,  
among all the participants tested were HPV, at 18 percent, and  
chlamydia, at 4 percent, according to the analysis, part of the  
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Each disease can be serious in its own way. HPV, for example, can  
cause cancer and genital warts.

Among the infected women, 15 percent had more than one of the diseases.

Women may be unaware they are infected. But the diseases, which are  
infections caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites, can produce  
acute symptoms like irritating vaginal discharge, painful pelvic  
inflammatory disease and potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy. The  
infections can also lead to longterm ailments like infertility and  
cervical cancer.

The survey tested for specific HPV strains linked to genital warts  
and cervical cancer.

Officials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the  
findings underscored the need to strengthen screening, vaccination  
and other prevention measures for the diseases, which are among the  
highest public health priorities.

About 19 million new sexually transmitted infections occur each year  
among all age groups in the United States.

“High S.T.D. infection rates among young women, particularly young  
African-American women, are clear signs that we must continue  
developing ways to reach those most at risk,” said Dr. John M.  
Douglas Jr., who directs the centers’ division of S.T.D. prevention.

The president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Cecile  
Richards, said the new findings “emphasize the need for real  
comprehensive sex education.”

“The national policy of promoting abstinence-only programs is a $1.5  
billion failure,” Ms. Richards said, “and teenage girls are paying  
the real price.”

Although earlier annual surveys have tested for a single sexually  
transmitted disease in a specified population, this is the first time  
the national study has collected data on all the most common sexual  
diseases in adolescent women at the same time. It is also the first  
time the study measured human papillomavirus.

Dr. Douglas said that because the new survey was based on direct  
testing, it was more reliable than analyses derived from data that  
doctors and clinics sent to the diseases center through state and  
local health departments.

“What we found is alarming,” said Dr. Sara Forhan, a researcher at  
the centers and the lead author of the study.

Dr. Forhan added that the study showed “how fast the S.T.D.  
prevalence appears.”

“Far too many young women are at risk for the serious health effects  
of untreated S.T.D.’s, ” she said.

The centers conducts the annual study, which asks a representative  
sample of the household population a wide range of health questions.  
The analysis was based on information collected in the 2003-4 survey.

Extrapolating from the findings, Dr. Forhan said 3.2 million teenage  
women were infected with at least one of the four diseases.

The 838 participants in the study were chosen at random with standard  
statistical techniques. Of the women asked, 96 percent agreed to  
submit vaginal swabs for testing.

The findings and specific treatment recommendations were available to  
the participants calling a password-protected telephone line. Three  
reminders were sent to participants who did not call.

Health officials recommend treatment for all sex partners of  
individuals diagnosed with curable sexually transmitted diseases. One  
promising approach to reach that goal is for doctors who treat  
infected women to provide or prescribe the same treatment for their  
partners, Dr. Douglas said. The goal is to encourage men who may not  
have a physician or who have no symptoms and may be reluctant to seek  
care to be treated without a doctor’s visit.

He also urged infected women to be retested three months after  
treatment to detect possible reinfection and to treat it.

Dr. Forhan said she did not know how many participants received their  
test results.

Federal health officials recommend annual screening tests to detect  
chlamydia for sexually active women younger than 25. The disease  
agency also recommends that women ages 11 to 26 be fully vaccinated  
against HPV.

The Food and Drug Administration has said in a report that latex  
condoms are “highly effective” at preventing infection by  
chlamydia, trichomoniasis, H.I.V., gonorrhea and hepatitis B.

The agency noted that condoms seemed less effective against genital  
herpes and syphilis. Protection against human papillomavirus “is  
partial at best,” the report said.


Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
Privacy Policy Search Corrections RSS First Look Help Contact Us Work  
for Us Site Map