|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
News |
|
|
|
|
Chlamydia Infections Recurring in Teenage Girls is Common
Recurring chlamydia infections in young women ages 14-19 is common, according to a Yale School of Public Health study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. More than half of the study’s 411 participants were initially diagnosed with chlamydia. In a rate higher than previously recorded, nearly 30 percent of these adolescent women reported repeated infections throughout the four-year project conducted at 10 community-based health centers in Connecticut. The women were examined at their initial visit and after 6, 12, and 18 months. 386 women were evaluated long-term. First author Linda M. Niccolai, Ph.D., assistant professor in the division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases at the Yale School of Public Health says that there are many reasons why young women are being infected and re-infected at such a high rate. One of the reasons may be that the young women’s sex partners are not being adequately treated for their first infection. “Women are much more likely than men to be diagnosed simply because they are more likely to seek reproductive health care,” says Niccolai. “Then they shoulder the burden to notify their partners about the infections and ensure their partner gets treated, which can be a very difficult thing for a young woman to do in the context of a sexual relationship.” Niccolai states that a major reason for chlamydia infections and re-infection is the lack of consistent and correct use of condoms, citing that deficient condom use may result from the misperception of risk in relationships. She also attributes multiple sex partners as a reason for higher rates of re-infection in young women. To prevent re-infections, Niccolai says that it is important to use the initial diagnosis as a window of opportunity to provide education and counseling to patients. “It is possible that young women think chlamydia is ‘no big deal’ because it is easily treated with a single dose of oral antibiotics.” Providing condom negotiation skills is important. “It is critical to have a discussion about how best to ensure that sex partners get treated.” Chlamydia is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases affecting both men and women. It is caused by a bacterial infection, Chlamydia trachomatis. The disease often has no symptoms and can seriously damage a woman’s reproductive organs. Long-term health consequences include pelvic inflammatory disease, chronic pelvic pain, and may cause infertility. Even if an infected woman has been treated, if her partner has not, she can become re-infected. Other authors on the study include Abby L. Hochberg, Kathleen A. Ethier, Ph.D., Jessica B. Lewis, M.F.T., and Jeannette R. Ickovics, Ph.D. —Story by Marcie Foley Citation: Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 161(3): 246-251, 2007. |
||||
|
 |
|
