One in four teen girls have STD
By MCL staff writer

In a recent article, information and research, it was found by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) studies that at least one in four teenage American girls has a sexually transmitted disease (STD). This first-of-its-kind federal study has startled some adolescenthealth experts.

It is very shocking that 25 percent of those in the study had some type of sexually transmitted disease.

Some doctors said the numbers might be a reflection 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.

Over the last decade, the percentage of all high school students (ninth-12th grade) who report ever having had sexual intercourse has declined. At the same time, among teens who are sexually active, rates of contraceptive use - including condom use - have increased. Both factors help to account for the decrease in teen pregnancy rates in recent years. Yet, despite these trends, about a third (34%) of young women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20 - about 820,000 a year, and approximately four million teens contract a sexually transmitted disease (STD) each year.

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

Among those who admitted having sex, the rate was even more disturbing - 40 percent had an STD.

The overall STD rate among the 838 girls in the study was 26 percent, which translates to more than 3 million girls nationwide, researchers with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. They released the results Tuesday, March 11, at a STD prevention conference in Chicago.

One expert on teenage studies stated, "Sexuality is still a very taboo subject in our society," Teens tell us that they can't make decisions in the dark and that adults aren't properly preparing them to make responsible decisions."

A recent state report he helped prepare showed that more than 20,000 cases of STDs for Georgia teens ages 15-19 were reported in 2006: 14,894 chlamydia, 5,746 gonorrhea, 21 syphilis.

A virus that causes cervical cancer is by far the most common sexually transmitted infection in teen girls aged 14 to 19. Forty-eight per cent of black teenage girls were infected, compared to 20 per cent of whites and 20 per cent of Mexican American girls. The report did not give data on the broader US Hispanic population according to the study from the federal Centers for Disease Control.

The report did not have an age or gender breakdown for the South Georgia district, but it did show an overall increase in chlamydia, 18 percent increase in gonorrhea and 133 percent increase in syphilis cases for the district in 2006.

The median age at first intercourse is 16.9 years for boys and 17.4 years for girls. The percentage of teens 15-19 who had initiated sexual intercourse before age 14 has decreased in recent years, from a high of 8 percent of girls and 11 percent of boys in 1995 to a low of 6 percent of girls and 8 percent of boys in 2002.

The CDC's Dr. Kevin Fenton said given that STDs can cause infertility and cervical cancer in women, "screening, vaccination and other prevention strategies for sexually active women are among our highest public health priorities."

The CDC said the rate of STD infection among US teen girls might be higher than the study indicates because it did not look at syphilis, gonorrhea or HIV infection, but said these generally are uncommon in girls this age.

"What we found is alarming," the CDC's Dr. Sara Forhan, who led the study.

Another official stated, "It maybe that this new 'lifestyle' that we are teaching may be the cause of this terrible problem with our youth."

Teenage boys and young men are responsible for transmitting these diseases, but a study has not been found on them at this time, but common sense would suggest that more young men would have STD than the girls.