Study: 1 in 4 Teenage Girls Has Sexually Transmitted Disease
I’m shaking my head on this one.
At least one in four teenage girls nationwide has a sexually transmitted disease, or more than 3 million teens, according to the first study of its kind in this age group.
A virus that causes cervical cancer is by far the most common sexually transmitted infection in teen girls aged 14 to 19, while the highest overall prevalence is among black girls — nearly half the blacks studied had at least one STD. That rate compared with 20 percent among both whites and Mexican-American teens, the study from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.
Among girls who admitted ever having sex, the rate was 40 percent. While some teens define sex as only intercourse, other types of intimate behavior including oral sex can spread some infections.
For many, the numbers likely seem “overwhelming because you’re talking about nearly half of the sexually experienced teens at any one time having evidence of an STD,” said Dr. Margaret Blythe, an adolescent medicine specialist at Indiana University School of Medicine and head of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ committee on adolescence.
But the study highlights what many doctors who treat teens see every day, Blythe said.
Dr. John Douglas, director of the CDC’s division of STD prevention, said the results are the first to examine the combined national prevalence of common sexually transmitted diseases among adolescent girls. He said they likely reflect current prevalence rates.
“High STD rates among young women, particularly African-American young women, are clear signs that we must continue developing ways to reach those most at risk,” Douglas said.
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 study by CDC researcher Dr. Sara Forhan is an analysis of nationally representative data on 838 girls who participated in a 2003-04 government health survey.
The results were prepared for release Tuesday at a CDC conference in Chicago on preventing sexually transmitted diseases.
Four common diseases were examined — human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer and affected 18 percent of girls studied; chlamydia, which affected 4 percent; trichomoniasis, 2.5 percent; and herpes simplex virus, 2 percent.
Blythe said the results are similar to previous studies examining rates of those diseases individually.
HPV can cause genital warts but often has no symptoms. A vaccine targeting several HPV strains recently became available. Douglas said it likely has not yet had much impact on HPV prevalence rates in teen girls.
Chlamydia and trichomoniasis can be treated with antibiotics. The CDC recommends annual chlamydia screening for all sexually active women under age 25. It also recommends the three-dose HPV vaccine for girls aged 11-12 years, and catch-up shots for females aged 13 to 26.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has similar recommendations.
Douglas said screening tests are underused in part because many teens don’t think they’re at risk, but also, some doctors mistakenly think, “‘Sexually transmitted diseases don’t happen to the kinds of patients I see.’”
Blythe said some doctors also are reluctant to discuss STDs with teen patients or offer screening because of confidentiality concerns, knowing parents would have to be told of the results.
The American Academy of Pediatrics supports confidential teen screening, she said.
(Fox)
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Hey, girls just wanna have fun, right? If this isn’t an epidemic, I don’t know what is. Tragic.
March 11th, 2008 at 8:54 amWell look at their role models, between dolls that look like strippers, and teen age singers who dress like strippers……who can really be surpised?
March 11th, 2008 at 8:55 amCompletely unrelated, what’s with the body of war ad? It seems like the typical liberal “war is bad so we shouldn’t do it” thinking. Pat can you control these ads. It may just be a guy struggle with the VA but the peace symbol on his wheelchair makes me think otherwise.
March 11th, 2008 at 8:58 amLittle sluts. One more reason not to have sex with teenage girls. Wait until their older and it’ll be 1 in 3 or 1 in 2.
Who writes this crap?!
March 11th, 2008 at 8:58 am“confidential teen screening” but no abstinance education?
Honey, put an aspirin between your knees, don’t drop it!
March 11th, 2008 at 8:58 amTeens tend to live like they wont make it past the age of 25. They don’t realize that now HPV (Human Papillomavirus) has a direct link to oral cancer too. And yes, it is spread by oral sex.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:09 amIf we have kids I am moving to the middle of, I don’t know……. Mississippi or Idaho, and disconnecting from all TV and internet, and home schooling.
We have “right to work” states….there ought to be some “right to parent” states……
That is a seriously fooked up stat.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:12 amThis will mean an epidemic of infertility down the road. Parents tell your daughters to keep an aspirin between their knees and your sons to keep their dicks in their pants!
March 11th, 2008 at 9:16 am“human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer and affected 18 percent of girls studied”
And part of the reason that the girls are showing up with this one (HPV) is because GUYS carry it without showing *any* symptoms so they tend to pass it along without even knowing that they are giving it to the ladies. And where are these teen-girls getting these STD’s? Ill-informed boyfriends (or date-rapists) who don’t know that they have something or are too afraid/embarrassed to get treated.
“confidential teen screening” but no abstinance education?
How about a “consequences of your actions” education instead. If people were less uptight about talking about sex (since it IS only natural and everyone does it at some point - with the rare exception) and were able to discuss ALL options with their kids then maybe there wouldn’t be as many STD’s OR abortions. Strategic deterrence… Show them pictures of genitals with herpes sores and warts and they may be less likely to risk having it happen the them… even though most teenagers have “it can’t happen to me syndrome”… I know those pictures scared the crap outta me when I was a young lad in the Navy visiting foreign ports.
How about “Not having sex is the best course of action to keep your junk safe, but if you ARE going to have sex (since MOST teens will no matter what we tell them) use a condom EVERY TIME until you are married.”
REALISTIC, biology-based, honest education is the best method of prevention. Not just a black and white “Don’t have sex until you are married” education.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:31 amYeah hearing those numbers shocks the hell out of me.
But then on the other hand John H makes an excellent point. Look at their role models. Just a bunch of dirty ho’s portraying themselves as well, dirty ho’s. Sucks their is no one to look up to that has any type of morals these days
March 11th, 2008 at 9:50 amKufir Ken
I can’t but only agree with you
“I know those pictures scared the crap outta me when I was a young lad in the Navy visiting foreign ports”
my man told me he had this kind of prevention in his Navy classes too, and said that after viewing these pictures the guys took attention with whom they might have had sex ; the medic on board used to supply condoms at each arriving in a harbour
March 11th, 2008 at 9:51 am“…but if you ARE going to have sex use a condom every time” = inherently flawed and analogous to telling your kid “don’t play with guns; but if you do, make sure you use blanks.” Never works. We all know guns are only fun with live rounds…
March 11th, 2008 at 9:51 amYeah, THIS is the one (vaccine) you are seeing the ad for on your TV screnes … You know, all the pretty little girls playing field hockey, basketball, riding horses, at the shopping mall chanting, “I wanna be ‘One Less’ …”
Uh huh … well, a small (/sarc) fact that is left out of this article, and the TV ad promoting the vaccine (which I believe was a topic of controversy several months … maybe a yr. … back in Texas when the governor there wanted it added to the list of mandatory vaccines for children … girls …) … The fact left out in the casual and random information IS … your chances of getting the HPV GREATLY INCREASES WITH MULTIPLE SEX PARTNERS!!!
The MORE guys you have (unprotected) sex with, the more exposure and chance you have at getting HPV.
So, as we saw with the AIDS outbreak early-on, the MOST reasonable ‘tactic’ for NOT getting the disease is being deliberately KEPT OUT of the media/agenda driven information …
Another important note here … It is obvious, due to the disease rates and existing teen birth rates, sex education in the public schools has failed at conveying to (pre)teens the priceless value of “protected” sex …
After BILLIONS of tax-payer dollars spent by the government it is time to “pull-out” of the public school sex education (war) …
March 11th, 2008 at 10:30 amIt sounds like a good time to go into the priesthood.
March 11th, 2008 at 10:51 am1 out of 4 means that 75% of the girls know how to avoid contracting STD’s. Maybe they should be questioned about what worked for them, and that info made available to the 25%, or at least introduced in the sex ed. curricula.
March 11th, 2008 at 10:54 amI’m still in a state of disbelief at those numbers. That is truly epidemic. I wonder, if those girls’ “sex ed” classes told them they would have a nearly 50% chance of getting HPV or other STDs once they started down that path. I never heard any numbers like that when I went to school (5 yrs ago) and no one mentioned HPV or the fact that guys transmit w/o realizing they have it
March 11th, 2008 at 10:55 amthat means 3 out of 4 girls are fair game
March 11th, 2008 at 11:41 amIf I remember correctly from my Immunology class, 1 out of 2 adults in America over the age of 25 now has or has had a sexually transmitted disease with many not even knowing it - most common form of silent STD: chlamydia.
Remember the good old days about 25 years ago when the thing you feared most about sex was herpes? Sounds like now that you’re grateful that’s all you’ve got.
March 11th, 2008 at 1:08 pmThis is just another reason why you need to drink 8 glasses of water a day. How else are you going to get enough antibiotics to ward off these scourges?
No, really, I am so glad my kids are grown and came out of adolescence unscathed.
March 11th, 2008 at 3:53 pmIt pays to behave yourself, has any of your friends got some honey pregnant or who screwed around on thier wives and ended up divorced? You might even be one of those guys. This goes for the girls too, know anyone who had to have the “Mom/Dad I need to talk to you” moment?
Been married 33yrs to the same lady. Didn’t get here by misbehavin!!
March 11th, 2008 at 4:34 pm31, fresh out of high school …
March 11th, 2008 at 4:37 pmG-d bless you and yours, may you have 31 more.
No misbehavin.
March 11th, 2008 at 5:16 pmIt’s good to know that Jerry Springers little pep talks on morality at the end of his show, are making an impact on 3 out of 4 teens!
March 11th, 2008 at 5:20 pmHey, I was no angel, but I waited until I was 19. What these kids need is a scared straight video to wise them up. Then tell them that funding for state aid is being cut for new mothers.
March 11th, 2008 at 7:00 pm@ John H. and Kurt(theinfidel)
That is a huge part of the problem.
These girls know what is glorified in our society and what isn’t. We can tell them whatever we want but it is what they see that has the most effect on them.
The double standards between the sexes do not help either.
March 11th, 2008 at 7:49 pmi wonder if anyone told elliot spitzer…
March 11th, 2008 at 8:21 pmso- like i wrote to the website that advocated- “just say no” as a way to handle teen agers- or those who were bitching about sex ed in school-> WAKE up and smell the statistics!! one guy above says “who writes this crap?”…! well, the CDC writes it and they use facts. FACTS. this is reality- and most of these kids are listening to parents who are dumb enough to say to their kids just dont have sex. so when they do - they do not want to rush out and get a condom and maybe get caught… ? NOW can you see why it might be a good idea to teach kids about this(in school) and about condoms- and maybe make condoms easy to get for them? its too late to shrug this off- its real. those kids just think its not going to happen to them!. well it is happening to them. a 75 cent condom could fix the problem- and we know its a given they are going to have sex- why not make it safe for them - instead of trying to make what is reality into some church consciousness of just dont do it…. thats like saying dance on the freeway and just dont get hit. ?put up a sign!! road ends 500 feet!at lest they have a chance not to drive off… this virus they are talking about causes cancer down the road- and these are our sisters, cousins, and our american women we will one day want to marry right? damn! - idealists piss me off.
March 12th, 2008 at 12:34 amTrue story, an old farmer told me this. Quote” I never paid for sex!” When I see a prostitute walk up to me, I take $20 out of my wallet, and then I do myself. When I finish, I put my $20 back in my wallet. That way I don’t pick up any diseases and I walk away happy and saved $20 dollars.
March 12th, 2008 at 7:30 am