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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> 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.
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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.
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