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Who's at risk for STD infection?

Category: Sexually Transmitted Diseases

All sexually active individuals are at risk for receiving a positive STD test at some point in their life, but there are certain factors that may further increase a person's odds of contracting an infection. Knowing how these factors affect one's risk may be a crucial step in being able to avoid potentially dangerous diseases.

Location

The geographic area in which a person lives is one of the primary risk factors for contracting and STD. There are major disparities between infections rates across the country. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that infection rates for chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis exceed 400 per 100,000 population in the majority of counties in Louisiana and Mississippi. Much of Alaska has similar rates.

Comparatively, Utah, Nebraska and much of the Northeast have rates lower than 300 per 100,000 population.

Gender

Females are 2.7 times more likely to have chlamydia than males, according to CDC figures. However, the agency points out that it recommends regular STD testing for all sexually active women over age 25, which may contribute to higher rates of diagnoses.

On the other hand, syphilis rates are 5.6 times higher in men than in women. The prevalence of gonorrhea is roughly the same in both genders.

Age

Aside from a person's region, their age is one of the greatest risk factors for receiving a positive STD test. The vast majority of new infections are contracted by individuals between the ages of 15 and 24. Individuals in this age group have four times as many new infections as the rest of the general population.

Interestingly though, older adults between the ages of 20 and 44 have significantly higher rates of syphilis than other age groups.

Race

African Americans are hit much harder by STDs than other ethnic groups. The CDC reports that this group has 8.7 times the number of chlamydia infections as Caucasians, 20.5 times the gonorrhea rates and 9.1 times the syphilis rates.

Despite a growing recognition of these disparities, they have only been growing over the course of the last five to 10 years.

Even if a person has one or more of these risk factors, it does not mean they are destined to contract an STD, however. Those who face a higher risk can prevent an infection by taking preventative steps like seeking STD testing.