National Prevalence of Trichomoniasis in
Women Aged 14-49 Years2
Of approximately 18.9 million new STD cases in the United States in the year 2000, it has been estimated that 9.1 million were among people between 15 and 24 years old, and that trichomoniasis represented 1.9 million of these cases.1
Sutton (2007) found that on a national level the prevalence of trichomoniasis increases with age.2
Studies of smaller segments of the population, however, have shown a particularly high prevalence of trichomoniasis among low income, African American females living in urban areas.3
Table 1 shows the findings of six typical studies of at-risk adolescents. Prevalence rates ranged from 8.9% to 18.5% among at-risk adolescents.4-9
| Participant Population (n) | Ages | Prevalence | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High school health clinic (228)4 | 15–19 | 10% |  |
| Behavioral intervention sessions (512)5 | 14–18 | 12.9% |  |
| Two urban adolescent clinics (467)6 | 12–18 | 15.6% |  |
| Juvenile correctional facility (133)7 | 13–17 | 11.7% |  |
| Teen health center and emergency dept. (330)8 | 14–21 | 18.5% |  |
| Prenatal clinic in large urban hospital (170)9 | 14–21 | 8.9% |  |
| Table 1 | |||
Factors that have been associated with increased T. vaginalis infection rates among adolescent females include:3
- Confirmed marijuana use
- Typical sex partners being at least five years older
- Sex with non-steady partners
- History of delinquency
- Weinstock H, Berman S, Cates W Jr. Sexually transmitted diseases among American youth: incidence and prevalence estimates, 2000. Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2004 Jan-Feb;36(1):6-10.
- Sutton M, Sternberg M, Koumans EH, McQuillan G, Berman S, Markowitz L. The prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis infection among reproductive-age women in the United States, 2001-2004. Clin Infect Dis. 2007 Nov 15;45(10):1319-26. Epub 2007 Oct 15.
- Crosby R, DiClemente RJ, Wingood GM, Harrington K, Davies SL, Hook EW 3rd, Oh MK. Predictors of infection with Trichomonas vaginalis: a prospective study of low income African-American adolescent females. Sex Transm Infect. 2002 Oct;78(5):360-4.
- Wiesenfeld HC, Lowry DL, Heine RP, Krohn MA, Bittner H, Kellinger K, Shultz M, Sweet RL. Self-collection of vaginal swabs for the detection of Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis: opportunity to encourage sexually transmitted disease testing among adolescents. Sex Transm Dis. 2001 Jun;28(6):321-5.
- Smith K, Harrington K, Wingood G, Oh MK, Hook EW 3rd, DiClemente RJ. Self-obtained vaginal swabs for diagnosis of treatable sexually transmitted diseases in adolescent girls. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001 Jun;155(6):676-9.
- Ohlemeyer CL, Hornberger LL, Lynch DA, Swierkosz EM. Diagnosis of Trichomonas vaginalis in adolescent females: InPouch TV culture versus wet-mount microscopy. J Adolesc Health. 1998 Mar;22(3):205-8.
- Holland-Hall CM, Wiesenfeld HC, Murray PJ. Self-collected vaginal swabs for the detection of multiple sexually transmitted infections in adolescent girls. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2002 Dec;15(5):307-13.
- Huppert JS, Mortensen JE, Reed JL, Kahn JA, Rich KD, Miller WC, Hobbs MM. Rapid antigen testing compares favorably with transcription-mediated amplification assay for the detection of Trichomonas vaginalis in young women. Clin Infect Dis. 2007 Jul 15;45(2):194-8. Epub 2007 Jun 6.
- Diclemente RJ, Wingood GM, Crosby RA, Rose E, Lang D, Pillay A, Papp J, Faushy C. A descriptive analysis of STD prevalence among urban pregnant African-American teens: data from a pilot study. J Adolesc Health. 2004 May;34(5):376-83.
