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High Levels of STDs among Teens Reinforce
Need for Abstinence Education
1 in 4 teen girls have at least one STD, new CDC study finds
Atlanta, GA — March 24, 2008 — A new CDC study indicates that one in four (26%) female adolescents aged 14-19 in the United States have at least one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The study is the first to examine the combined national prevalence of common STDs among adolescent women in the United States.
For this analysis, the teens were tested for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, chlamydia, herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection, and trichomoniasis. The authors examined high-risk HPV types, including 23 types of the virus that are known to cause cancer, and the two types that cause most genital warts.
Based on the overall STD prevalence of 26 percent, the authors estimate that about 3.2 million adolescent females in the United States are infected with one of these STDs. Overall, approximately half of all the teens in the study reported ever having had sex. Among these girls, the STD prevalence was 40 percent. The most common STD was cancer- and genital wart-associated HPV.
“These results are a wake-up call for parents and health educators about the importance of abstinence education, which promotes a message of risk avoidance,” says Bruce Cook, President of Choosing the Best. “So called “Safe Sex” is not the answer because condoms do not provide complete protection from any STD. In fact, they are much less effective against common STDs such as HPV because the infection can be located in areas that are not covered by a condom.”
The study also found that even among girls reporting only one lifetime partner, one in five (20.4%) had at least one STD. Girls with three or more partners had a prevalence of over 50 percent. “Many teens think an STD could never happen to them so it’s powerful to be able to show them how widespread STDs are, even among teens who’ve only had one partner” says Cook.
“Armed with these findings, parents and health educators will certainly be even more committed to empowering teens to choose abstinence as a means to protect their health and future” says Cook.
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