Things You Should
Know about STDs
An STD Fact Sheet dated June 1997 from the Medical
Institute of Sexual Health (MISH)
8 new STD pathogens have been identified since 1980, including HIV.
Approximately 2/3 of all persons who acquire STDs are under age 25.
1 in 5 Americans under the age of 65 is infected with an incurable viral STD.
About 1 in 4 sexually experienced teens acquires an STD each year.
AIDS is the leading killer of Americans between the ages of 25 and 44.
As of June 1996, 343,000 Americans have died from AIDS.
25% of all new HIV infections are found in people under age 22.
12 million Americans are newly infected with an STD each year. 3 million are teenagers; about 7 million are in their twenties.
Though teens make up only about 10% of the U.S. population, they contract 25% of the STDs annually.
More teens have chlamydia, a disease that can cause infertility in women, than any other age group. About 25-33% of all sexually active teens are infected with this disease.
About 1 million teens become pregnant each year. Of these pregnancies, at least 35% end in abortion.
Human papilloma virus (HPV) is an STD that causes cervical and other genital/anal cancers (both male and female) as well as genital warts. Each year, more women in America die of cervical cancer (nearly 5,000) than die of AIDS-related diseases. Because HPV is transmitted by direct, intimate (skin-to-skin) contact, condoms provide virtually no protection against HPV.
The risk of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is as much as 10 times greater for 15-year-old females than for 24-year-old females. PID can cause sterility.
Adolescents (10-19) and young adults (20-24) are the age groups at greatest risk for acquiring an STD.
STDs accounted for 87% of all cases among the top ten most frequently reported diseases in the U.S. during 1995.
5 of the top 10 reportable infectious diseases in 1995 were STDs, including the top 3 (chlamydia, gonorrhea, and AIDS).
Every year, about $10 billion is spent on major STDs (besides AIDS) and their preventable complications.
STDs can cause serious, life-threatening complications including cancers.
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