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Journal of the National Medical Association logoLink to Journal of the National Medical Association
. 1993 Jun;85(6):435–439.

Sexually transmitted disease among adolescents in the juvenile justice system of the District of Columbia.

V D Wood 1, A Shoroye 1
PMCID: PMC2571871  PMID: 8366532

Abstract

Disenfranchised youth are known to be at high risk for sexually transmitted infections. A study was conducted to validate the screening for sexually transmitted disease (STD) among adolescents under court jurisdiction, to characterize variables associated with STD among this group, and to contrast and compare the characteristics of STD among incarcerated youth as opposed to those in alternative court-sponsored facilities. Sixty teenagers referred to an outpatient adolescent clinic for court-ordered physical examination were tested for infection with syphilis. Fifty-four were tested for gonorrhea and chlamydia. The overall rates for gonorrhea and chlamydia among the group were an identical 9.2%. Six percent of the study population were diagnosed with syphilis infection. While only 17% of the youths were female, they accounted for over half of all infections with gonorrhea and chlamydia. All cases of sexually transmitted bacterial infections were found in youth residing in alternative court-sponsored facilities.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alexander-Rodriguez T., Vermund S. H. Gonorrhea and syphilis in incarcerated urban adolescents: prevalence and physical signs. Pediatrics. 1987 Oct;80(4):561–564. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
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