Very High STD Rate Seen in Southeast London Girls

Adolescent girls in southeast London are three times more likely to have gonorrhea, chlamydia or another STD than older women who visit genitourinary medicine clinics for check-ups, according to findings in the October issue of Sexually Transmitted Infections (2002;78:349-351). "There is a high rate of [STDs] in the 16-year-olds compared to national figures and to general clinic attenders," wrote study author Dr. Sarah Creighton of the Camden Primary Care Trust in London and colleagues.

In a survey of 144 girls and 18 boys ages 12 to 16 who visited a genitourinary clinic in March and October 1998, nearly two out of every three adolescent girls had an STD, researchers report. Yet only about half of the youths had symptoms and visited the clinic for that reason, while 43 percent visited for a routine check-up.

Also, 19 percent of the girls were pregnant, and all but one requested that the pregnancy be terminated, the report indicates. Of the remaining girls who were not pregnant, three-quarters admitted using inadequate contraception. Most of the girls had been pregnant at least once in their lifetime. Many of the young women are "very scared about their health and the future" and know that condom use lowers their risk of STDS, but they are often "unable to negotiate this with their partners," Creighton said.

The rates of STDs may be so high among girls 16 or younger due to their "higher rate of partner change," as well as the self-perpetuation of gonorrhea, for example, within a community that already has a high level of the disease, said Creighton. Previous research indicated that 14 percent of the nation's gonorrhea cases are treated in southeast London.

Despite the high rates of STDs among the girls, 47 percent failed to show up for a follow-up visit, study findings indicate. And almost one-quarter of those who did return said they had not fully adhered to their treatment regimen, which included taking 90 percent of their medication, having protected sex, and informing their partners.

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