CDC: Significant health, economic toll reported for STIs in US

There are more than 110 million sexually transmitted infections among men and women in the United States, with approximately 20 million new infections registered each year, costing $15.6 billion in medical costs, according to results from two studies released by the CDC.

“STIs take a big health and economic toll on men and women in the United States, especially our youth,” study researcher Catherine L. Satterwhite, PhD, MSPH, MPH, assistant professor of preventive medicine and public health at the University of Kansas Medical Center, said in a press release.

Catherine L. Satterwhite

To update estimates to reflect the number of STIs for 2008, Satterwhite and colleagues reviewed available data and literature — including the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey — to project incident infections for eight common STIs: chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, HPV, hepatitis B, HIV and trichomoniasis.

According to the analysis, approximately 19.7 million incident infections occurred in the United States in 2008, with nearly 50% (9.8 million) acquired by men and women aged 15 to 24 years.

HPV infections, known to be asymptomatic, accounted for most of prevalent and incident infections.

The second study released by the CDC examined the same eight STIs to evaluate the lifetime cost per case. Adjusting costs to 2010 US dollars, the researchers calculated the total direct cost for each STI as the product of the number of new or newly diagnosed cases in 2008, as well as the estimated discounted lifetime cost per case.

The results included total lifetime medical cost associated with each of the eight STIs: chlamydia ($516.7 million), gonorrhea ($162.1 million), HBV ($50.7 million), HIV ($12.6 billion), HPV ($1.7 billion), HSV type 2 ($540.7 million), syphilis ($39.3 million) and trichomoniasis ($24 million).

Additionally, costs associated with HIV infection accounted for more than 81% of the total expenditure. Among the nonviral STIs, chlamydia was observed to be the most costly infection.

“All STIs are preventable. They’re all treatable, and many are curable. But if they’re left untreated, they can lead to pretty serious lifelong problems and even death,” Satterwhite said. “Individuals need to talk openly to their sexual partners and to their doctors about getting tested, and they need to reduce their individual risk. They need to vaccinate. They need to consider ways to reduce their risk, like practicing abstinence, using condoms correctly and consistently every time, and being in a mutually monogamous relationship.”

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