Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Incidence of STDs

• STDs affect women and men of all backgrounds and economic levels. They are most prevalent among teenagers and young adults. Nearly two-thirds of all STDs occur in people younger than 25 years of age.
• The incidence of STDs is rising because in the last few decades young people have become sexually active earlier and have been marrying later, though these trends may be shifting slightly today. In addition, divorce is more common. The result is that sexually active people are more likely to have multiple sex partners during their lives and are potentially at greater risk for STDs.
• Many STDs initially cause no symptoms, particularly in women, and when symptoms do develop they may be confused with other diseases not transmitted through sexual contact. That is why doctors recommend periodic testing for people who have more than one sex partner.
• Health problems caused by STDs tend to be more severe and frequent for women than for men, in part because the absence of symptoms causes women to be diagnosed later when more serious problems have developed. For example, STDs can spread to the uterus and fallopian tubes, causing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), a leading cause of infertility and potentially fatal ectopic (tubal) pregnancy. Some STDs, such as human papillomavirus infection (HPV), also can be associated with cervical cancer. Further, STDs -- some readily curable, but others disabling or life threatening -- can be passed from a mother to her baby before or during birth.
• When diagnosed and treated early, almost all STDs can be treated effectively. Some organisms, such as certain strains of gonorrhea, have become resistant to the older medications used to treat them and now require newer types of antibiotics. The most serious STD, for which no cure exists, is acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a fatal viral infection of the immune system. Experts believe that having STDs other than AIDS increases one’s risk for becoming infected with the AIDS virus.