It is estimated that one in five Americans has a sexually transmitted infection (STI), according to a new report.
Data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that there were about 68 million STIs on a given day (prevalent) and 26 million new STIs (incident) acquired in 2018.
In addition, almost 50% of all STI incidents were diagnosed in people aged 15 to 24 years.
The report also found that STIs acquired that year cost the U.S. health care system nearly $ 16 billion in direct medical costs alone.
The CDC says its new estimates are critical to “better understanding the scope of STIs in the U.S.” and that more action is needed to
New CDC figures estimate that on a given day in the U.S. there were 67.6 million sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in 2018
Almost half, 45.4%, of all newly acquired infections (for a total of 11.9 million) were from people aged 18 to 24 (more)
An STI, sometimes called a sexually transmitted disease (STD), is an infection that is transmitted from one person to another through vaginal, oral, or anal sex.
Some are bacterial infections that can be cured with a single dose antibiotic regimen, while others are viral infections that cannot be cured but can be modulated with antivirals.
STIs do not always show symptoms and, if diagnosed and not treated, can have serious health consequences.
Some infections can increase the risk of HIV or cause chronic pelvic pain, pelvic inflammatory disease, and even infertility.
Currently, STIs cause about 2.7 deaths per 100,000 people, mainly due to HIV and HPV (human papilloma virus) infections.
For the report, published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases, the CDC focused on eight STIs: chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, syphilis, genital herpes, HPV, sexually transmitted hepatitis B, and sexually transmitted HIV.
The number of prevalent infections and incidents was calculated by multiplying the per capita estimate of each STI by the total estimate of the resident population.
The results revealed approximately 67.6 million STIs on a given day.
With a population of approximately 320 million people, the authors say this suggests that approximately 20% of Americans had STIs at some point in 2018.
Investigators also found that there were about 26.2 million ITS incidents in the U.S. in 2018
The four most common infections were chlamydia, trichomoniasis, genital herpes, and HPV, which accounted for 97.6% of all STIs on a given day and 93.1% of all newly acquired STIs.
Of these new infections in 2018, about half, or 45.4 percent, were contracted by Americans between the ages of 15 and 24.
“The burden of STIs is impressive,” Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC National Center for HIV / AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STDs, and Tuberculosis Prevention, said in a statement.
“At a time when STIs are reaching an all-time high, they have fallen out of the national conversation. However, STIs are a national health threat that can be prevented and treated with substantial personal and economic impact.
The new infections are likely to cost the U.S. health care system about $ 16 billion in lifetime medical costs, with the most related to HIV treatment (above)
In addition, these new infections are likely to cost the U.S. health care system $ 16 billion in medical costs.
Most of the cost, of $ 13.7 billion, is attributed to sexually acquired HIV infections due to the life of antiviral treatment.
The second most expensive STI was HPV, with about $ 755 million in treatment not only for infection, but also for HPV-related cancers.
According to the CDC, 15- to 24-year-olds account for approximately 60% of the combined health costs of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis.
Women account for nearly 75 percent of the $ 2.2 billion in non-HIV-related STI medical costs, the agency said.
“There are significant human and financial costs associated with these infections, and we know from other studies that cuts in STI prevention efforts lead to higher costs along the road,” said Raul Romaguera, acting director of the CDC STD Prevention Division. statement.
“Preventing STIs could save billions in medical costs, but more importantly, prevention will improve the health and lives of millions of people.”