What are the most common STDs among teens?
Teens are at high behavioral risk for acquiring most STDs. Teenagers and young adults are more likely than other age groups to have multiple sex partners, to engage in unprotected sex, and, for young women, to choose sexual partners older than themselves. Moreover, young women are biologically more susceptible to chlamydia, gonorrhea and HIV. Chlamydia and gonorrhea are the most common curable STDs among teens. Curable STDs are typically caused by bacteria that can be killed with antibiotics. However, if these diseases remain undetected and untreated, they can result in severe health consequences later in life. Among teens, it is not uncommon to see more than five percent of young men and five to 10 percent of young women infected with chlamydia (Mertz, CDC, 1998). Rates of gonorrhea are highest in females 15 to 19 years of age and in males 20 to 24 years of age. The prevalence of herpes increases with age. Since this disease stays within the body once acquired, the older people are, t
