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| Chlamydia Screening Rates Remain Low | April 2009 |
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| Chlamydia Screening Rates Remain Low > April 2009 |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17th, 2009 Media Contact: ASHA Media Relations P.O. Box 13827 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Fred Wyand (919) 361 - 3124 (voice) (919) 361 - 8425 (fax) mediarelations@ashastd.org CDC Report: Chlamydia Screening Rates Remain Low RTP, NC – A report issued this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that the percentage of women screened for chlamydia dropped slightly from 2006 to 2007, and screening rates remains well below published guidelines. Chlamydia infections are often unrecognized and undiagnosed. Over 1 million cases of chlamydia are reported to CDC each year, but estimates place the true incidence in the U.S. at nearly 3 million. ASHA’s Vice President for Health Policy, Deborah Arrindell, says the highest rates of the infection occur in young people and communities of color. “Females ages 15-24 years bearing the heaviest burden of chlamydia infections, and racial disparities also persist with the disease: Chlamydia rates among African-Americans, for example, are eight times higher than for whites.” Arrindell says racial inequities with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are fueled in part by poverty, lack of access to health care, and numerous other social factors. Chlamydia is often asymptomatic and, if untreated in women, can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), chronic pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility. Federal and professional recommendations call for annual chlamydia screening for all sexually active women age 25 and younger, and for women with risk factors (such as new partner or multiple partners). Despite published guidelines, screening rates for chlamydia remain low. Based on data from 2000-2007 reported to the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS), CDC says the national screening rate for chlamydia among women was just 41.6% in 2007, down from 43.6% in 2006. Chlamydia screening rates had risen every year since 2000. ASHA President and CEO Lynn B. Barclay says stigma and misinformation are barriers to greater uptake of testing with all sexually transmitted infections, including chlamydia: “There is genuine reluctance among healthcare providers to test for chlamydia, stemming from both a lack of awareness of the extent of the STI epidemic among young people, and perceptions that their patients are not sexually active or at risk.” Barclay points out that patients, too, are often hesitant to initiate sexual health conversations: “It’s a shame that so many young women experience reproductive health issues due to chlamydia, an infection that’s easy and inexpensive to detect and cure. The bottom line is clear if you’re sexually active: Use condoms, talk to your doctor, pee in a cup (to test for chlamydia), and protect your health!” Source: Chlamydia Screening Among Sexually Active Young Female Enrollees of Health Plans --- United States, 2000—2007. MMWR, April 17, 2009. 58(14);362-365. The American Social Health Association (ASHA) is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1914 to improve the health of individuals, families, and communities, with a focus on educating about and preventing sexually transmitted infections. ASHA’s educational web sites include: www.ASHAstd.org, www.iwannaknow.org (teen site), and www.quierosaber.org (Spanish language teen site). ### |
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