Thursday, March 13, 2008
Sexually transmitted infections afflict one in four girls between the ages of 14 and 19, according to a study released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That translates to 25 percent of freshmen and sophomore girls at the University of Kansas.
Ken Sarber, health educator at the Wellness Resource Center, said the statistic did not surprise him.
“I would say it’s probably right on the money,” he said.
The prevalence of STIs in freshmen and sophomore women is reflected across campus, where one fourth of all sexually active University students have an STI, Sarber said.
But that number is not unique to the University.
A 2006 study from Columbia University Health Services reported that 20 to 25 percent of all college students have either contracted an STI or passed one on to someone else.
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STD statistics
— Almost half of the 19 million new STI infections each year occur in people ages 15-24
— 6.2 million new cases of HPV occur in the U.S. each year
— 2.8 million new cases of chlamydia occur in the U.S. each year
— 50 percent of sexually active students will have had an STI by the age of 25
— $14.7 billion is spent annually on medical costs associated with STIs
—from the CDC and Watkins Memorial Health Center and Columbia University Health Services
Additionally, another CDC study estimates that among the 19 million new STIs each year, almost half occur in people between the ages of 15 and 24.
Sarber said those statistics could come as a surprise to many students.
“I think people are just blind a little bit,” he said. “They don’t want to think about how common it is. They think ‘Oh, it won’t happen to me.’”
Kathy Guth, nurse practitioner in the gynecology department at Watkins Memorial Health Center, echoed that sentiment.
She said many students assumed they wouldn’t catch an STI or were unaware that they already had one.
That is a danger with chlamydia in particular, Sarber said, because 75 percent of infected individuals might not experience any symptoms.
“They’re continuing to have unsafe sex and spread it from partner to partner,” Sarber said.
Chlamydia is one of the most common STIs on campus, second only to human papilloma virus, or HPV, Guth said.
Sarber said the exact number of STI’s among students was impossible to pinpoint because students don’t always go to Watkins for their STI tests. He also said many STIs on campus went unreported.
Despite this, there are a number of ways students can protect themselves against STIs.
The CDC recommends people always use a condom during intercourse to reduce the risk of transmitting an infection. Sexually active people should also get tested regularly for STIs and make sure they know their partner’s sexual history.
Guth encouraged students to visit or call Watkins at 864-9500 to schedule an STI test or get more information about STIs.
—Edited by Samuel Lamb
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