1 in 10 Female Army Recruits Has Chlamydia

HealthDayNews ^ | Fri Sep 5, 7:03 PM ET | Gary Gately

[Destro]

1 in 10 Female Army Recruits Has Chlamydia

Fri Sep 5, 7:03 PM ET

By Gary Gately
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Sept. 5 (HealthDayNews) -- Almost one in 10 female U.S. Army recruits have tested positive for chlamydia, the nation's most common sexually transmitted disease.

And the prevalence of the disease among the female recruits increased during the 3 1/2-year study, researchers from Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. Army and the Defense Department report in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

The researchers conducted urine-based testing for chlamydia among 23,010 female Army recruits between January 1996 and June 1999. The recruits also answered questions about sexual history, presence or absence of symptoms, and prior history of sexually transmitted diseases.

The findings underscore the need for routine testing of female Army recruits to protect their health, says study author Charlotte Gaydos, an associate professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The Army doesn't screen new recruits for the disease, but the Navy and Marines do, she adds.

"These rates are of great concern," Gaydos says. The incidence of chlamydia also provides "clear justification," she says, for screening of women entering the Army, treatment when necessary and periodic re-screening.

Chlamydia can be detected by a simple urine test and is cured easily with antibiotics. But the disease often goes unnoticed because most women who get it show no symptoms and screening is not routine, Gaydos says.

In fact, about 75 percent of American women and 50 percent of men with chlamydia have no symptoms, so they're unaware of their infections and therefore may not seek care, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites) (CDC) has found.

"It's been called the silent disease; it just doesn't produce symptoms for the most part," Gaydos says.

The Hopkins researchers cite statistics showing 3 million to 4 million Americans are infected with chlamydia each year.

Chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease in women that can lead to scarring, infertility, tubal pregnancy and chronic pelvic pain. The CDC estimated in 2001 that up to 40 percent of women with untreated chlamydia would get pelvic inflammatory disease, and of those with the pelvic disease, 18 percent would have debilitating, chronic pelvic pain, and 9 percent, a life-threatening tubal pregnancy.

Gaydos says the study results also demonstrate the need for more chlamydia screening among the general population.

"Programs for screening and treating chlamydia infection have proven to be cost-effective, especially when compared to the health problems associated with untreated infections," she says.

The researchers found several factors associated with infection, including age (under 25), southern U.S. hometowns, more than one sex partner and a history of other sexually transmitted diseases.

Overall, 9.5 percent of the Army recruits tested positive for chlamydia, but the rate increased from 8.5 percent at the start of the study to 9.9 percent at the end, the researchers say.

Dr. Kimberly Yarnall, an associate clinical professor in the department of community and family medicine at Duke University Medical Center, says young women should ask to be tested for chlamydia.

But Yarnall says many sexually active young women mistakenly believe they're not at risk for sexually transmitted diseases, including chlamydia.

"There's a huge disconnect here. They're not getting the fact that they are at risk, and they're not taking measures to protect themselves," Yarnall says.

She points to a study published in the August issue of Preventive Medicine. Yarnall and other researchers surveyed 1,210 women -- students and non-students between 18 and 25 -- and found 61 percent of non-students and 56 percent of students had unprotected sex within the past three months.

Yet, more than three-quarters of all the women surveyed believed they were at low risk for contracting a sexually transmitted disease in the next year.

Awareness about sexually transmitted diseases has declined in recent years, Yarnall says. "I think people get lulled into thinking, 'Oh, it's not going to be a problem, or I'm not going to get it, or it's easily curable,'" she says.

Gaydos says more public awareness would lead to more chlamydia screening.

"If we had more public-awareness campaigns," she says, "we'd have more women and men going in and saying, 'I'm sexually active, can I be screened?"

[hasegawasama]

So? One in ten women have chlameydia, I think.

[TheAngryClam]

Center for Disease Control Facts

As many as 1 in 10 adolescent girls tested for chlamydia is infected.

Based on reports to CDC provided by states that collect age-specific data, teenage girls have the highest rates of chlamydial infection. In these states, 15- to 19-year-old girls represent 46% of infections and 20- to 24-year-old women represent another 33%. These high percentages are consistent with high rates of other STDs among teenagers.

Among women entering the Job Corps in 1997, chlamydia rates ranged from 4 - 14% by state (20,000 entrants are screened annually). Chlamydial infection is widespread geographically and highly prevalent among these economically disadvantaged young women between 16 and 24 years old.

Seems to me like the Army recruits are just the same as everyone else (1 in 10 or so), and likely cleaner.

[cmsgop]

Chlamydia would make a good Pet Name.

Fetch Girl, Fetch Chlamydia.....

[Porterville]

Of course they are, but liberals hate the military.

[TheAngryClam]

Well, yeah, that's why this story is coming out.

However, I'm sure that the "you dirty whores!" types would have been along fairly quickly as well.

[Consort]

Element: Chlamydia
Symbol: Ch
Atomic No.: 105
Atomic weight: [ 229 ]
Group Name: Actinoid

[ETERNAL WARMING]

and found 61 percent of non-students and 56 percent of students had unprotected sex within the past three months.

THis is a scary stat. Imagine how many abortions that encompasses.

[Alberta's Child]

I think the Pentagon could ensure a high level of discipline in the military and protect female members of the military from unwanted sexual advances by announcing that 99% of the female recruits have some kind of STD.

[Let's Roll]

That was my question too - what is the rate in the general population? This study of course only dealt with the military population.

[risk]

This disease could be impacting our society's fertility rate. See http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/stdclam.htm

[stylin_geek]

My daughters are currently on military bases, (Navy) and the std rate on base, according to them, runs around 75% or better.

[First Amendment]

Gaydos says more public awareness would lead to more chlamydia screening.

You mean some people haven't heard of sexually transmitted diseases yet?

I've got a novel idea. Maybe if people didn't have sex until they were married, and then remained faithful, this wouldn't be a problem. People don't have to act on every thought or desire that passes through their minds. There are such character traits as self-control and determination - and they can be developed.

[Agnes Heep]

I was under the impression that this was the age of the condom.

[Destro]

Condoms can be expensive--when you take into account you are buying all that other stuff to hide the fact that you are buying condoms.

[Saundra Duffy]

Good grief!

[Arthalion]

and found 61 percent of non-students and 56 percent of students had unprotected sex within the past three months. THis is a scary stat. Imagine how many abortions that encompasses.

Maybe, maybe not. This "survey" runs from 18 to 25 years old, and doesn't qualify married vs. unmarried samples. I saw a statistic recently stating that well over 1/3 of American women are married before their 25th birthday. I know that, at 24, my wife was having frequent unprotected sex ;-)

Oh, and my sister (an Army medic based at Ft. Sill) has assured me in the past that the STD rates for active duty Army females hovers around 30% The Army is good about getting the women treated and cured, but she echoes the "mental disconnect" comment found in the article. She told me about a time when a woman came in to have her fifth STD treated in less than a year, and how the woman was complaining about how she kept getting them. When my sister suggested that she protect herself or stop sleeping around with guys she hardly knew, the woman got defensive and claimed that her sex life had nothing to do with her STD's...and refused to listen to ANYTHING my sister had to say afterwards. Sis honestly couldn't tell if this woman was stupid or just badly informed, but it's a great example of what's wrong with our young women nowadays.

Oh, and for those of you with sons in the Army, I have to point this out: These diseases aren't spreading between women on the toilet seats. My sister has also had the unfortunate luck to treat Army wives infected after their husbands have returned from overseas duty, and has assisted in the treatment of male soldiers who have picked up everything from herpes to AIDS while fooling around with the locals and female soldiers. The Army spends a lot of time and money to educate soldiers on this stuff, but it doesn't seem to be doing any good :\

[rmmcdaniell]

um no, Dubnium is element #105

[Consort]

Dubnium is element #105

Yes, Ch is 135.

[Salman]

bump