Annual STI Testing Among Sexually Active Adolescents

Area of Science:

• Adolescent health
• Public health surveillance
• Epidemiology of infectious diseases

Background:

• National guidelines recommend annual screening for certain sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in specific adolescent populations.
• There is a lack of population-based data on STI testing prevalence among adolescents.
• The Youth Risk Behavior Survey was updated in 2019 to include STI testing data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide generalizable estimates of annual STI testing among sexually active high school students.
• To examine demographic and behavioral factors associated with STI testing.
• To assess adherence to national STI screening guidelines.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from the 2019 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n=2501 sexually active students).
• Calculation of weighted prevalence estimates for STI testing (excluding HIV) in the past 12 months.
• Bivariate and multivariable analyses to identify associations between testing and demographic/behavioral characteristics.

Main Results:

• Overall, 20.4% of sexually active high school students reported STI testing in the past year.
• Females (26.1%) were significantly more likely to be tested than males (13.7%).
• Among females, testing prevalence increased with age; among males, sexual risk behaviors were associated with higher testing likelihood.

Conclusions:

• The low prevalence of STI testing indicates suboptimal adherence to national screening guidelines.
• Adolescent females and young men who have sex with men are key populations needing improved annual STI testing.
• Targeted interventions are needed to increase STI testing rates in accordance with public health recommendations.