Age and Racial Disparities Persist for Gonorrhoea and Chlamydia in the United States

Abstract

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are primarily spread through sexual activity. In recent years, STIs have been on the rise globally. In the United States, chlamydia and gonorrhoea are the most prevalent bacterial STIs and have been for the past decade. Both these infections infect the same tissues, have similar modes of transmission, clinical presentations, and can be treated by the same antibiotics. Yet, the epidemiologies and forecasts appear to be different. This paper identifies vulnerable populations specific to gonorrhoea and chlamydia and assesses factors that are likely driving these disparities. Publicly available surveillance data from The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was examined to identify vulnerable populations for both diseases. These findings show that there are sex-specific differences in risk of gonorrhoea and chlamydia, and that young females carry an increased risk of both. Also, there is an increased risk of both infections among the Black/African American population. Understanding risk and risk-drivers is essential to targeting these vulnerable populations for the interest of public health.