Premarital sex, birth rates, STD increasing among U.S. teens

Following a decreasing trend from 1991 to 2005, birth rates among U.S. teens are significantly increasing since 2006, according to a government-funded study.

The researchers from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention scrutinized data 2002-2007. Hence, their study somehow provides intriguing and disturbing results. According to the research cases of Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) have steadily increased among males and females aged 10-24 being diagnosed with disease such as syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea. Add to that, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) also showed drastic increase, specifically among males aged 15 to 24. The study also revealed that from 2004-2006, in just a span of two years, about 100,000 young females visited a hospital for nonfatal sexual assault, most notably among young girls aged 10-14 which recorded 30,000 cases. The study also showed sexual and reproductive health disparity among racial/ethnic groups, citing that Hispanic teens are more likely to become pregnant (13.28%) than non-Hispanic blacks (12.8%)and non-Hispanic whites.(4.5%) The disheartening data were printed in the July 17 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.