It is estimated that there were nearly 68 million STIs on any given day in 2018, as well as 26 million newly acquired STIs in the same year. The study found that nearly one in two incidental STIs was contracted by people aged 15 to 24.
The research further showed that those infections generated medical costs of nearly $ 16 billion over their lifetime.
“The burden of STDs is staggering,” said Jonathan Mermin, MD, MPH, director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV / AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention. “At a time when STDs have reached record levels, they have fallen out of the national conversation. Yet STDs are a preventable and treatable national health threat with substantial personal and economic consequences. especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit many STD prevention services. ”
STDs can have serious health consequences. People with these infections don’t always experience disease symptoms, but if left untreated, some STDs can increase the risk of HIV infection or cause chronic pelvic pain, pelvic inflammation, infertility, and / or serious pregnancy and newborn complications.
STDs cost the U.S. healthcare system billions of dollars annually
HIV and HPV infections acquired in 2018 were the most expensive STDs in the new CDC analysis, as the medical costs for these infections include lifelong treatment for people with HIV and treatment for HPV-related cancers. Other notifiable STIs, including chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, also have significant medical costs.
Of the estimated $ 16 billion in lifelong medical costs from STDs acquired in 2018:
The total costs of STIs are much higher than the medical costs estimated in this study, excluding costs associated with productivity loss, other non-medical costs and STI prevention.
“Proven STI prevention – at all levels – is a cornerstone of protecting American health, economic security and well-being,” said Raul Romaguera, acting director of CDC’s STD Prevention division. “There are significant human and financial costs associated with these infections, and we know from other studies that cuts to STI prevention lead to higher costs down the road. Preventing STDs can save billions in medical costs, but more importantly, prevention would affect the health and lives of millions of people. ”
Targeting STD prevention at the worst affected and the need for better data
COVID-19 has underscored the underlying effects of systemic health and social inequalities that put racial and ethnic minority and other populations at increased risk of infection. Likewise, there is a continuing disproportionate burden of STIs among certain racial and ethnic groups; among young people aged between 15 and 24, who accounted for almost half of all new STIs in 2018; and among women, who are responsible for a disproportionate burden of serious STD outcomes and medical costs.
CDC’s new estimates are critical to a better understanding of the extent of STDs in the US. However, the findings also point to gaps in the scientific literature and the continued need for more data. This includes the need for population-based STI screening estimates to provide a better picture of diagnosed and undiagnosed STDs in groups disproportionately affected, including some racial / ethnic minority groups and those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual , are transgender or strange / questioning. LGBTQ.
Innovative strategies critical to tackling the STI epidemic
At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating racial and ethnic health disparities, straining public health infrastructure and creating additional challenges for the delivery of health services, new strategies to improve access to quality sexual health care are critical. Strategies used to overcome barriers linked to the COVID-19 pandemic can help reverse the rise in STIs.
Examples are:
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