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SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED diseases have been on the rise in recent years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, combined cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia – the three most commonly reported STDs – reached an all-time high in the United States in 2018. Causes of the increase in STDs may include drug use, poverty, decreased condom use and budget cuts to STD programs.
Drawing on data from our database of over 30 billion private health care claim records – the largest in the country – our organization studied trends and patterns in STD diagnoses. We examined STD diagnoses as defined in the clinical literature and based on International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9 and ICD-10 codes.
These are some of our findings.