2008 Woodie Awards
STDs More Common in Teen Girls
Chris Nesi
Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: Features
A one of a kind study performed by the Centers for Disease Control has concluded with alarming results: 26 percent of the 838 girls tested in the 2003-2004 health survey tested positive for at least one sexually transmitted disease. On a national scale, this translates to 3.2 million girls nationwide.
The study was conducted using girls between the ages of 14-19. Fewer than half of the girls in the study actually admitted to having sex, but among those who said they have, 40 percent had an STD. The numbers were substantially higher among African-American girls with a 48 percent infection rate, compared to only 20 percent of Caucasian and Mexican-American girls. Boys of the same age group have yet to be tested in this kind of study.
The reasons for this are complicated. Many schools around the country, particularly in poorer areas, simply don't have the resources to design and implement a functional sex education program. Some blame so-called "abstinence only" sexual education, which teaches kids that the only way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases is to avoid sex until marriage. The commonly-held belief among teenagers that they are impervious to the bad things in life may be partly to blame, as research shows teenagers are more likely than most to engage in risky sexual behavior. The CDC's director of STD prevention, Dr. John Douglas, said not only are some STD patients in denial about their vulnerability, but many doctors incorrectly assume that "Sexually transmitted diseases don't happen to the kinds of patients I see." They certainly are happening to somebody's patients, as 15 percent of the girls in the study had two or more STDs.
The two most common diseases in the study, human papilloma virus (HPV), and Chlamydia, do not usually show physical symptoms. HPV can cause warts in the genital area, but the most serious cases can lead to cervical cancer. Chlamydia can devastate a woman's reproductive system, even causing sterility. In such a case where a disease can be damaging your body for life without ever indicating it outwardly, Dr. Sara Forhan, who led the CDC study on adolescent girls says, "This means that far too many young women are at risk for the serious health effects of untreated STDs, including infertility and cervical cancer."
The study was conducted using girls between the ages of 14-19. Fewer than half of the girls in the study actually admitted to having sex, but among those who said they have, 40 percent had an STD. The numbers were substantially higher among African-American girls with a 48 percent infection rate, compared to only 20 percent of Caucasian and Mexican-American girls. Boys of the same age group have yet to be tested in this kind of study.
The reasons for this are complicated. Many schools around the country, particularly in poorer areas, simply don't have the resources to design and implement a functional sex education program. Some blame so-called "abstinence only" sexual education, which teaches kids that the only way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases is to avoid sex until marriage. The commonly-held belief among teenagers that they are impervious to the bad things in life may be partly to blame, as research shows teenagers are more likely than most to engage in risky sexual behavior. The CDC's director of STD prevention, Dr. John Douglas, said not only are some STD patients in denial about their vulnerability, but many doctors incorrectly assume that "Sexually transmitted diseases don't happen to the kinds of patients I see." They certainly are happening to somebody's patients, as 15 percent of the girls in the study had two or more STDs.
The two most common diseases in the study, human papilloma virus (HPV), and Chlamydia, do not usually show physical symptoms. HPV can cause warts in the genital area, but the most serious cases can lead to cervical cancer. Chlamydia can devastate a woman's reproductive system, even causing sterility. In such a case where a disease can be damaging your body for life without ever indicating it outwardly, Dr. Sara Forhan, who led the CDC study on adolescent girls says, "This means that far too many young women are at risk for the serious health effects of untreated STDs, including infertility and cervical cancer."
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