It is estimated that in 2018 there were almost 68 million STIs on a given day, as well as 26 million newly designated STIs in the same year. The research found that almost one in two incidents of STIs was obtained by people aged 15 to 24 years.
The research further showed that the infections would incur medical costs of almost $ 16 billion over a lifetime.
“The burden of sexually transmitted diseases is staggering,” said Jonathan Mermin, MD, MDH, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV / Aids, viral hepatitis, STDs and TB prevention. “At a time when sexually transmitted diseases are an all-time high, they fall outside the national discourse. Yet sexually transmitted diseases are a preventable and treatable national health hazard with significant personal and economic impact. There is an urgent need to the trend of reversing.
STIs can have serious health consequences. People with these infections do not always experience disease symptoms, but if left untreated, some diseases can increase the risk of HIV infection, or cause chronic pelvic pain, inflammation in the pelvis, infertility and / or severe pregnancy, and newborn complications.
STIs cost the US health care system billions of dollars annually
HIV and HPV infections contracted in 2018 were the most expensive sexually transmitted diseases in the new CDC analysis, as medical costs for these infections include lifelong treatment for people with HIV and treatment for HPV-related cancers. Other notifiable STIs, including chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, also have significant medical costs.
Of the estimated $ 16 billion in medical expenses incurred by STIs in 2018:
The total cost of sexually transmitted diseases is much higher than the medical cost burden estimated in this study, which does not include costs associated with lost productivity, other non-medical costs and prevention of STIs.
“Proven SOI prevention – at all levels – is a cornerstone of protecting America’s health, economic security and well-being,” said Raul Romaguera, acting director of CDC’s STD Prevention division. “There are significant human and financial costs associated with these infections, and we know from other studies that cutting STI prevention efforts results in higher costs. Preventing STIs can save billions of medical costs, but more importantly, prevention will save the health and lives of millions of people. ‘
Focus on STI prevention on those worst affected and the need for better data
COVID-19 highlighted the underlying effects of systemic health and social inequalities that put racial and ethnic minority groups and other populations at risk for infection. Similarly, there is an ongoing excessive burden of STIs among certain racial and ethnic groups; among young people between the ages of 15 and 24 who in 2018 accounted for almost half of all new STIs; and among women, who are responsible for an excessive burden of serious STI outcomes and medical costs.
The CDC’s new estimates are critical to better understanding the extent of STIs in the US, but the findings also highlight gaps in the scientific literature and the continuing need for more data. This includes the need for STI-based population-based SOS estimates to better provide a diagnosis of undiagnosed and undiagnosed sexually transmitted diseases in groups that are excessively affected, including racial / ethnic minority groups and people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer / interrogated. LGBTQ.
Innovative Strategies Critical to Address the STI Epidemic
At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating racial and ethnic health inequalities, harnessing public health infrastructure and creating additional challenges for the delivery of health services, new strategies for improving access to quality sexual health care are critical. Strategies used to overcome barriers associated with the COVID-19 pandemic may help reverse the increase in STIs.
Examples include:
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