4 Troubled Teens Blog

About 19 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections occur every year, with half of them among young people ages 15 to 19 years old, according to new estimates from the Centers for Disease Control.

• There were 1.2 million new cases of Chlamydia and about 337,000 cases of gonorrhea in 2008, the year of the latest report.
• Young women ages 15 to 19 years old had the most new cases of any other age group.
• Girls are at higher risk, because these diseases, if left untreated, can cause infertility, pregnancy problems, and infections in newborns.

Dr. John Douglas, director of the division of sexually transmitted diseases in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that better sex education could help.

"We are not honestly and openly dealing with this issue and of the larger issue of sexual health," Dr. Douglas said.

Labels: teenagers, sexually_transmitted_diseases

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

Binge drinkers are at increased risk for contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), according to a new study from the New York City Health Department.

Binge drinking was defined as having five or more drinks on one occasion at least once a month. About 15 percent of New York's adults do this.

Among the teens in the study, 14 percent said they binged within the last four weeks. One in four who drank any alcohol whatsoever reported having multiple sex partners. This group was also more likely to have unprotected sex.

Forty percent of homosexual men who binge drink told researchers they had five or more sexual partner within the past twelve months, putting them at risk for STDs.

The city determined these rates by analyzing data from the New York Health Department 2007 Community Health Survey.

Labels: sexually_transmitted_diseases, binge_drinking

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Mothers are less likely to have their daughters under age 13 receive the new vaccine against human papillomavirus, even though doctors recommend it for girls at 11 or 12 years old, according to a national study from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Over 85% of the 10,521 mothers in the study thought the vaccine was a good idea for 16- to 17-year-old girls, but only 48% intended to have their 9- to 12-year-olds vaccinated.

The vaccine protects against a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

This study was presented at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies.

Labels: sexually_transmitted_diseases, girls, vaccine

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments