Sexually Transmitted Disease Statistics in the United States

Table 1. Cases of sexually transmitted diseases reported by state health departments and rates per 100,000 civilian population: United States, 1941–2003

Observations from the Center for Disease Control

• Although chlamydia in women is a widely distributed STD among all racial and ethnic groups, trends in positivity in women screened in HHS Region X show consistently higher chlamydia positivity among minorities (Figure W).
• In 2003, the rate of chlamydia among African-American females in the United States was more than 7 times higher than the rate among white females (1,633.1 and 217.9 per 100,000, respectively) (Table 11B). The chlamydia rate among African-American males was 11 times higher than that among white males (584.2 and 52.9 per 100,000 respectively).
• In 2003, chlamydia positivity among sexually active 15- to 30-year-old women screened at clinics of the Indian Health Service (IHS) in two IHS areas was 11.0% (Figure X).
• In 2003, 70.7% of the total number of cases of gonorrhea reported to CDC occurred among African-Americans (Table 21A). In 2003, the rate of gonorrhea among African-Americans was 655.8 cases per 100,000 population, among American Indian/Alaska Natives the rate was 103.5, and among Hispanics the rate was 71.7. These rates are 20, 3, and 2 times higher, respectively, than the rate among whites in 2003 of 32.7 cases per 100,000 population. The rate of gonorrhea among Asian/Pacific Islanders in 2003 was 22.8 cases per 100,000 population (Figure 16, Table 21B).
• Gonorrhea rates in 2003 were highest for African-Americans aged 15-24 years among all racial, ethnic, and age categories. In 2003, African-American women aged 15-19 years had a gonorrhea rate of 2,947.8 cases per 100,000 females. This rate is 14 times greater than the 2003 rate among white females of similar age (204.8). African-American men in the 15- to 19-year-old age category had a 2003 gonorrhea rate of 1,464.1 cases per 100,000 males, which was 39 times higher than the rate among 15- to 19-year-old white males of 37.7 per 100,000. Among 20- to 24-year-olds in 2003, the gonorrhea rate among African-Americans was 18 times greater than that among whites (2,683.1 and 152.0 cases per 100,000 population, respectively) (Table 21B).
• Although gonorrhea rates declined for most age and race/ethnic groups during the 1980s, they did not decline for African-American adolescents. African-American females 15 to 19 years of age did not show a decline in rates until 1991 (Figure Y). Declines among African-American males aged 15-19 years did not begin until 1992 (Figure Z). From 1999 through 2003, gonorrhea rates among African-Americans declined by 18.9% (808.4 and 655.8 cases per 100,000 population, respectively). During the same period, gonorrhea rates increased by 22.5% among whites, 17.5% among Asian/Pacific Islanders, 11% among Hispanics, and 5.5% among American Indian/Alaska Natives (Table 21B).
• The syphilis epidemic in the late 1980s occurred primarily among heterosexual, minority populations.¹ During the 1990s, the rate of primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis declined among all racial and ethnic groups (Figure 30). During 2000-2003, the rate continued to decline among African-Americans, but the overall rate of P&S syphilis and rates among non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and American Indian/Alaska Natives increased; increases in P&S syphilis occurred only among men and the most rapid rate of increase occurred among non-Hispanic white men during this time (Table 34B). Despite recent changes in the demographics of syphilis infection, the rates of P&S syphilis continue to be higher among African-Americans and Hispanics than among non-Hispanic whites.
• In 2003, 39.2% of all cases of P&S syphilis reported to CDC occurred among African-Americans and 41.9% of all cases occurred among non-Hispanic whites (Table 34A). Although the rate of P&S syphilis among African-Americans declined from 9.5 to 7.8 cases per 100,000 population between 2002 and 2003, the 2003 rate was 5.2 times greater than the rate among non-Hispanic whites (1.5 cases per 100,000 population).
• The incidence of P&S syphilis among African-Americans was highest among women aged 20-24 years (11.1 cases per 100,000 population) and among men aged 35 to 39 (25.7 cases per 100,000 population) in 2003 (Table 34B).
• Between 2002 and 2003, P&S syphilis rates for African-Americans aged 15-19 years declined 18.1%; rates declined 31.8% among African-American females but increased 3.4% among African-American males in this age group (Figures AA and BB, Table 34B). The P&S syphilis rate among young African-American adults aged 20-24 years declined 13.7% between 2002 and 2003; rates declined 30.6% among African-American females and 1.4% among African-American males in this age group (Table 34B).