Oakland study says STDs among youth rising

By: Kristin Furtado

Posted: 10/17/07

A recent study by Oakland's Public Health Institute Center for Research on Adolescent Health and Development found that the annual number of sexually transmitted diseases among California's youth is much higher than expected and will cost the state billions of dollars in treatment each year.

In the study, researchers found there were an estimated 1.12 million new cases of eight major STDs, including Chlamydia, Gonorrhea and Human Papillomavirus (HPV), among 15 to 24 year olds in California in 2005-at an estimated direct medical cost of $1.11 billion annually. These costs include doctor visits, diagnostic testing, drug treatments, and treatment for acute infections, as well as infections left untreated.

Santa Clara County has 34,090 new cases of STDs within this age group, according to the study.

"They're not being safe in terms of using protection," said Buu Thai, public affairs director of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte - San Jose/Coastal Region, referring to the youth within the demographic.

She said these numbers represent 15.5 percent of the population within this age group, leaving Santa Clara County to foot a $29 million medical bill that year.

In the study, which was published in the September issue of the California Journal of Health Promotion, the findings are 10 times higher than the number of cases actually reported in 2005, and suggests that California is facing a hidden epidemic when it comes to STDs.

Thai said these cases largely go unreported because of a lack of education, adding that most young people rely too heavily on birth control pills. She said some males don't think they have to wear a condom if their sexual partner is taking birth control pills - but she warns that birth control does not protect against STDs.

"When I was in college, I knew many students who had STDs," said 27-year-old Lara Borowski, an SJSU graduate student studying community health education.

"People don't know about it, but it happens all the time," she said.

Borowski, who has been in a relationship for the past four years, said she uses birth control pills but not condoms.

Despite the rising number of STDs, Thai said the rate of unintended pregnancies has gone down "tremendously," by 24 percent, indicating that this demographic is very educated when it comes to birth control but not when it comes to STDs.

"About 80 percent of the people don't know that they're infected with an STD because there's no symptoms," said Melinda Chu-Yang, a peer health education coordinator who specializes in sexual health.

Chu-Yang provides free one-on-one sexual health counseling for students on everything from what the most effective form of birth control is ("hormonal methods," which are 99.9 percent effective if used correctly) to how to tell your partner if you've been diagnosed with an STD.

The most common symptom of an STD? Not having a symptom at all, Chu-Yang said.

"That's the reason why the rates are so high," she said.

"There's always that risk," said Nick Underwood, a senior liberal studies major, about having sex with people one doesn't know that well. Underwood, who said he's been to the student health center for an STD screening before, said students need to be wise about having sex, especially when it comes to using protection.

Underwood goes to the campus Condom Co-Op, a free service that provides students with condoms. His friend, Edgar Raygoza, a senior international business major, believes that college students should take advantage of the resources on campus when it comes to sexual health.

"You have to worry about your health," Raygoza said.

While unintended pregnancy rates are pretty low, Chu-Yang said rates of Chlamydia and Gonorrhea are fairly common on college campuses.

Of the number of Chlamydia tests performed in the Student Health Center between April 1, 2006 and March 31, 2007, 2.56 percent were positive, said Dr. Cecilia Manibo, the medical chief of staff at the Student Health Center in an e-mail. Out of the number of Gonnorhea tests, less than 1 percent were positive.

"We cannot determine the prevalence rate of these infections on campus, as many students obtain health care off campus," Manibo said in the e-mail.

She said there were 849 visits for STD checks within this time period, but cautions that the number doesn't reflect how many actual students were checked because some of them may have come in more than once to be evaluated.

While unprotected sex is addressed during individual visits to the SJSU Student Health Center, clinicians do not compile data on this information, Manibo said.

According to the California Department of Health Services, the rate of Chlamydia in Santa Clara County has increased by 24.4 percent, and Gonorrhea by 78 percent, between 2001 and 2005 - with women between the ages of 15-19 having the highest Chlamydia rates.

Furthermore, syphilis in males shot up 81percent between 2003 and 2004 despite a consistent decrease throughout the '90s.

"Actually, it's rising throughout America, so it's not just in college," said Dr. Oscar Battle, SJSU Health Education Coordinator, who doesn't necessarily believe the rise of STDs indicates an epidemic.

He said there are many resources available for students on campus.

Students, he said, can make an appointment to see a clinician at the student health center for an STD/HIV screening. Chu-Yang also provides students with free HIV testing.

Battle also encourages students to arm themselves with knowledge before becoming sexually active.

"We want them to be good health consumers," he said.

How often students should get tested, Thai said, largely depends on the level of sexual activity that person engages in - and how many partners they have. She said having protected sex - namely wearing condoms - is very important when it comes to safeguarding oneself against the spread of STDs.