1 in 4 Amercian Teenage Girls are Diseased

[The Rover]

1 in 4 Teen Girls Has Sexual Disease

Thats 25% for those thatwant it another way..

March 11, 2008

CHICAGO (AP) - 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.

About half of the girls acknowledged ever having sex; among them, 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 the data, from 2003-04, likely reflect current rates of infection.

"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 government health survey. Teens were tested for four infections: 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.

The results were prepared for release Tuesday at a CDC conference in Chicago on preventing sexually transmitted diseases.

HPV can cause genital warts but often has no symptoms. A vaccine targeting several HPV strains recently became available, but 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.

[MrsRobertPlant]

I heard the same thing on Maury yesterday, its incredible.

[Sunray782]

I heard the same thing on Maury yesterday, its incredible.

Every single girl on Maury is diseased!

[MeanMrKetchup]

And i heard that Americans would usually get tested before having sex :|

[Electrophile]

I'm not surprised. I don't think teenagers are educated enough on the dangers of STDs, and they don't know where they can get protection if they choose to have sex. A lot of schools think abstinence education is smart, but if you look at the numbers, schools that use only that as sex ed, have a higher than normal rate of teen pregnancy and STD infection. It just doesn't work. The more you tell people they can't have something, the greater the urge to have it is.

Teach them what condoms are, teach them what the Pill is, teach them that being safe is smarter than just screwing for the hell of it, consequences be damned.

[dragster]

Terrible news!

[Mattmc1973]

See, I knew my mom was right, girls are filthy. She was also right when she said I was the best sweater-knitter in the world! (that's what we would do on Saturday nights together, to keep me away from the "dirty beasts")

[MrsRobertPlant]

Every single girl on Maury is diseased!

It was one of those rare educational episodes! They were talking about teen sex parties, but no actual girls were on the show

[SteveAJones]

Teach them what condoms are, teach them what the Pill is, teach them that being safe is smarter than just screwing for the hell of it, consequences be damned.

Classes can be offered but these should be parental responsibilities.

[Mattmc1973]

Classes can be offered but these should be parental responsibilities.

Should be, but are rarely undertaken.

[JethroTull]

Quick, block Spats from this topic.

[Black Dawg]

Every single girl on Maury is diseased!

What about the married ones?

[SteveAJones]

I think Lynne Spears should publish her book on the choices she made as a parent.

After all, when you look at Britney and see how...well, take Britney's younger sister

for example, when you see how...never mind.

[brspled]

Talk to your children. Schools may help, but it's our responsability as parents to talk about sex with our kids.

[Electrophile]

Yes, parents should be the ones educating their children about sex and other worldly things, but most parents view school as an 8-hour babysitter, and they feel it's the schools' job to educate them on this subject.

I went to Catholic school, but we didn't get abstinence-only education. The school realized they needed to get with the times and offered an actual sexual education class.

[MrsRobertPlant]

Well see, you can educate* children/teens as much as possible, but they'll still do what they want. Its stupid really, but the absolute truth. Teenagers dont ever think it can happen to them, they're "invincible". I should know!

[TRB]

It's no surprise; factor in those who are in their 20s and up and the number becomes far more than 3 million. Don't forget the males as well. Quite sad, this, but again, no surprise.

[Hermit]

Quick, block Spats from this topic.

spats wears protection when he has.. uhh.. "spats sex".

*CLICK*

[peppermint]

iI think, it is very sad, a sign of the times.

[The Rover]

More details from Dr. Sara Forhan, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Forhan noted that most of the burden of STDs falls on young African-American women. "Among African-American teenagers, about one in two were affected compared to one in five white teens," she said.

Race itself is not a risk factor for STDs, Forhan said. However, factors such as limited access to health care, poverty, community *prevalence of STDs, and misperceptions about individual risk are some of the reasons that STD rates are particularly high among African-Americans, she said.

*Prevalence is a measurement of all individuals affected by a disease at a given point in time, regardless of the date of contraction; whereas incidence is a measurement of individuals who contract a disease during a specified time interval.

According to Forhan, about 50 percent of the teens reported having sex, and the prevalence of STDs in this group was 40 percent. "Even for young women with only one reported lifetime sexual partner, one in five had an STD," she noted.

[Mona]

Things like that make me glad I don't have much of a sex drive.

It's a shame that STDs are so common, but really not suprising.

[MrsRobertPlant]

^ Yes and if its that way now...I just dont want to imagine how the situation will be in a decade. It really pisses me off that I have a sexual active TWELVE year old cousin, I think its ridiculous.

[wanna be drummer]

Yes, parents should be the ones educating their children about sex and other worldly things, but most parents view school as an 8-hour babysitter, and they feel it's the schools' job to educate them on this subject.

I went to Catholic school, but we didn't get abstinence-only education. The school realized they needed to get with the times and offered an actual sexual education class.

I went to Catholic school as well, and I agree with you there. I also agree that many parents expect the schools to do everything. Personally, I think parents need to have a much, much larger role in teaching their children about sex. Seriously, school is for learning of subjects with which you can use to get a job in the workforce, not for teaching kids about how to protect yourself from AIDs.

But this is America and we won't do that.

[Pb Derigable]

Remeber the Rule of 3 from American pie. If one girl out 4 tells you that they are diseased, then all 4 have it.

[Hotplant]

What about the "Boys?"

Funny these studies are often only about women/girls.

I doubt they are all getting it from girl/girl sex. Yes, it can happen. Though lesbians seem to keep it cleaner

We need to get over the fact that kids are having sex and we need to supply them with TONS of condoms and info, since abstinence doesn't work in large cities especially.

Talk to your kids! Leave condoms in the bathroom, restock. Leave books about the human body and pregnancy in your home library, age appro.

BTW...The Discovery Channel's series "The Human body" is fascinating!