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July 16, 2009

Sobering statistics on teen pregnancy and STDs

The teen pregnancy rate increased in 2006 and again in 2007, after 14 years of declines, according to a report released today from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It's among a string of worrisome statistics released today that indicate after recent years of improvements, some trends are getting worse. Among the findings in the CDC's analysis of youth sexual and reproductive health: 

+   The rate of AIDS diagnoses in young men (15-19 years old) is on the rise, nearly doubling from 1.3 cases per 100,000 population in 1997 to 2.5 cases per 100,000 population in 2006.

+   In 2006, about 1 million teens and young adults had chlamydia, gonorrhea or syphilis. And the rates of syphillis, for men and women, are on the rise.

+   The humanpapillomavirus, or HPV, is widespread. Between 2003 and 2006, nearly a quarter of girls 15-19 years old had an HPV infection. That figure was 45 percent for young women ages 20-24.

 

 

Now the big question is why?

"It is imperative that all of us at the national and community level work together to ensure STD and HIV prevention programs are reaching young people, particularly in communities with the greatest burden of disease," said Dr. Kevin Fenton with the CDC.

Posted by Kelly Brewington at 12:53 PM | | Comments (1)
Categories: Pediatrics
        

Comments

Question: Have you done any research in the past years on the high school drop-out rate? I am asking because when I completed my thesis for grad school, teenage pregnancy in the Urban community was my topic. I found that high school drop-outs and teen pregnancy are inter-related. I am also curious since I was also a teen parent. At the age 15 to be exact.
Thanks,
Sheena Wallace, M.B.A

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About Picture of Health
Kelly Brewington came to the health beat a year ago after covering everything from education and government to race and immigration in her 11 years as a reporter. Since then, she has tackled stories on autism, heart failure and acupuncture used to treat drug addiction. She’s been fascinated by medicine since childhood, when her doctor dad and nurse mom gave her Gray’s Anatomy coloring book to play with. She also blames her early exposure to the field of medicine for her hypochondria.

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