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SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES
Rates of reportable
sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are particularly high
among adolescent females and young
adult women. In 2001, chlamydia was the most common infection,
followed by gonorrhea, with rates in adolescents aged 15-19
of 2547.2 and 703.2 cases per 100,000 women respectively.
The rates for both of these STDs decreased with age. Rates
of chlamydia and gonorrhea were much higher among non-Hispanic
Black women than among women of other races and ethnicities,
with rates of 1,646.1 and 721.4 per 100,000 women, respectively.
American Indian/Alaska Native women had the second highest
rates of these diseases.
A third reportable STD, syphilis,
remained relatively rare among females in 2001 (1.4 per
100,000 women). In 2001,
this condition also disproportionately affected non-Hispanic
Blacks
(8.4 per 100,000 women) and American Indian/Alaska Native
women (3.8 per 100,000 women).
Although these conditions are treatable with antibiotics,
STDs can have serious health consequences. Active infections
can increase the likelihood of contracting HIV, and untreated
STDs can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility,
and adverse outcomes of pregnancy.
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