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Uptake of regular chlamydia testing by U.S. women: a longitudinal study
Janneke C M Heijne1, Guoyu Tao, Charlotte K Kent
1Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
|August 17, 2010
Summary
Annual chlamydia screening rates for young women in the U.S. are low, with only 0.1% tested yearly. This low uptake of chlamydia testing does not meet national recommendations for infection control.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
- Preventive Medicine
Background:
- Routine chlamydia screening is recommended for sexually active women aged 25 years and younger in the U.S.
- Uptake rates for regular chlamydia testing among this demographic are not well-established.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the rates of annual chlamydia testing in a large population of U.S. women.
- To identify factors associated with repeat chlamydia testing in women aged 15-25 years.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of chlamydia testing data from 2,632,365 women aged 15-25 enrolled in 130 commercial health plans (2002-2006).
- Estimation of age-specific chlamydia testing rates (per 100 woman-years) and repeated annual testing rates.
- Use of Poisson regression to assess the impact of age and prior testing on subsequent chlamydia testing.
Main Results:
- The overall chlamydia testing rate was 13.6 per 100 woman-years, with higher rates in older women (17.7 per 100 woman-years at age 25).
- Only 25.9% of women enrolled for the full 5 years had at least one test; a mere 0.1% were tested annually.
- Previous testing and older age were associated with increased likelihood of repeat chlamydia testing.
Conclusions:
- Observed rates of annual chlamydia testing fall short of national guidelines.
- The low adherence to recommended chlamydia screening frequencies is unlikely to significantly impact population-level control of chlamydia infections.
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