Washington, D.C. has the highest rate of reported sexually transmitted diseases among teenagers in the United States — and it’s not even close.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that teens in the District of Columbia report suffering from various sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) at a rate of over 55 cases per thousand.
graphic design: Nursing@USC
By contrast, Utah — the state with the lowest teen STD rate — has just over 10 cases of STDs for every 1,000 teens.
Other states with notably high reported STD rates among youngsters include Alabama (over 40 cases per 1,000), Louisiana (also over 40 cases per 1,000) and Mississippi (about 38 cases per 1,000).
The great throng of STDS from which America’s teens suffer includes chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes and something called trichomonas vaginalis. There’s also pelvic inflammatory disease, chancroid and human papillomavirus (more commonly known as HPV).
Data from the CDC shows that sexually transmitted diseases are most common among gay and bisexual males.
“Young gay and bisexual males have disproportionately high rates of HIV, syphilis, and other sexually transmitted diseases,” according to a CDC report on adolescent and school health.
Also, somewhat counterintuitively, “adolescent lesbian and bisexual females are more likely to have ever been pregnant than their heterosexual peers.”
The CDC collected its most recent data in 2013.
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