• Many STDs have few recognizable symptoms and are often not diagnosed, and even when they are diagnosed they are not always reported; the numbers reported are thus underestimates of the true number infected and thus is common to use estimates that are based on the number reported.  
• It is estimated that 54 percent of new Chlamydia infections occurred among 15-24 year olds in 2000; among 18-24 year olds, there were an estimated 1.5 million new infections.
• It is estimated that 60 percent of new gonorrhea infections occurred among 15-24 year olds in 2000; there were an estimated 431,000 new gonorrhea infections in that age group.
• It is estimated that 40 percent of new genital herpes infections occurred among 15-24 year olds in 2000; there were an estimated 640,000 new infections in that age group; an estimated 4.2 million Americans between 15-24 are infected.
• It is estimated that that 50 percent of new HIV infections occurred among 15-24 year olds in 2000; there were an estimated 30,000 new HIV infections from sexual contact in that age group.
•  In 2000, an estimated 9.1 million total STDs occurred among 15-24 year olds, this was 48 percent of all STD infections.

Hillard Weinstock, Stewart Berman, and Willard Cates. 2004. “Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among American Youth: Incidence and Prevalence Estimates, 2000.” Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.

Among individuals aged 15-24, the total estimated lifetime medical cost of new STD (including HIV) infections in 2000 was $6.5 billion ($8.3 billion in 2006 dollars). For STDs, lifetime costs make sense because the costs might not occur for many years due to treatment delay (and in the case of HIV, once the infection is discovered, treatment may last for a lifetime). The paper states: “To our knowledge, this is the first study of the economic burden of STDs among youth in the United States.” Harrell Chesson, John Blandford, Thomas Gift, Guoyo Tao, and Kathleen Irwin. 2004. “The Estimated Direct Medical Cost of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among American Youth, 2000.” Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.

Cost of HIV among adults:12 for HIV, an “average” cost of infection can be misleading because the medical cost of treating HIV depends on the level of infection (i.e. how severely the immune system has been compromised), and consequently studies often distinguish between patients with different levels of infection; for the two studies below I first list the overall average, then the average cost for severe infection, and finally the average cost for mild infection

A 2000-01 study of HIV positive patients at an Alabama clinic estimated that the average annual total medical cost was $18,640 ($23,388 in 2006 dollars); the average cost range was from $13,885 to $35,532. Ray Chen, et. al. 2006. “Distribution of Health Care Expenditures for HIV-infected Patients.” Clinical Infectious Diseases.

A nationally representative study of individuals infected with HIV estimated that in 1998 the average annual total medical cost for an individual infected with HIV was $18,036 ($26,602 in 2006 dollars); the average cost range was from $6,384 to $28,128. Samuel Bozzette, Geoffrey Joyce, Daniel McCaffrey, and Arleen Leibowitz.2001.“Expenditures for the Care of HIV-infected Patients in the Era of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy.” New England Journal of Medicine.

To search recent articles about these and other topics, please search Articles.

Return to Quick Facts and Statistics