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sabang

This is quite a startling statistic!

26 percent of female teens have a sexually transmitted disease, study finds

'WAKE-UP CALL' FOR HEALTH SYSTEM

A first-of-its-kind federal study showing 26 percent of American female teens have at least one sexually transmitted disease brought mixed reaction from health care professionals Tuesday, with some saying the findings were disturbing - but not necessarily surprising.


In a sweeping federal study thought to be the most comprehensive look at STD infection rates among girls and women ages 14 to 19, researchers found that infections from sexual activity of teens are a serious public health problem, and that young African-Americans are the most severely affected.

Some doctors said the numbers might reflect the downside of both abstinence-only sex education and teens' own sense of invulnerability. Because some sexually transmitted infections can cause infertility and cancer, U.S. health officials called for better screening, vaccination and prevention.

Only about half of the teens in the study acknowledged having sex. Some teens define sex as only intercourse, yet other types of intimate behavior including oral sex can spread some diseases.

The rate was even higher among those who admitted having sex - 40 percent had an STD.

"I think it's a wake-up call for parents and for the medical system," said Alina Salganicoff, vice president for women's health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation in Menlo Park. "Clearly, this is a really important part of adolescent health that we need to be paying attention to."
The overall STD rate among the 838 teens in the study was 26 percent, which translates to more than 3 million nationwide, researchers with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_8...nclick_check=1

Always wear a condom in that high risk third world country.

__________________
To err is human. To blame someone else is politics.

buriramboy

The only problem with this survey is that there is no other country to compare it with so while 26% sounds really high in comparison to other countries it may not be, would be interesting to see what the stats are on the Philipines as you get a dose just flying over the place.

Milkman

Who did the study?

I am not saying I automatically doubt the study's results, but I need to know the socio-economic, geographical, racial and ethnic breakdown.

And also, we need to know the sample size, and definitions of what is classified as an STD.

sabang

I'm hoping more details will come to light- the OP article was not exactly thorough. I assume the sample group was fairly representative of the US population.

I would be well curious to know how these figures compare to several other countries, including Oz, Thai & UK. If the USA is a hotbed of 26% infected teens, then Brazil should be over 75%!

sabang

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/sc...hp&oref=slogin

The NY Times report is more specific:-

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.

.... 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.

Jet Gorgon

Interesting. I doubt Canada would even release such stats, and it would never be done in Asia. None of my Asian women friends ever went for a pap smear or a "ladies" check unless they were married and pregnant. Truly sad.
Also, I didn't know those four diseases are all STDs.
You mean kids still don't use condoms? Really stupid. Did AIDS disappear already?