With advances in medicine and treatments available that have helped to lengthen the lifespans of those who are HIV positive we are hearing less about STDs in the news than what was once heard about two decades ago when an HIV positive result was basically the equivalent of a death sentence.
The declining media coverage might tempt one to believe that STDs are not as common as they once were, but coming to that conclusion would be wrong. According to data from the CDC sexually transmitted diseases have in fact reached an all time high in America with over 2.5 million new cases being reported every year. So while it may seem as if STDs may have faded from the mainstream media and popular consciousness, they still continue to exist and inexorably increase in America.
The most recent STD data was analyzed to calculate which states had the highest and lowest overall STD rates in America; also performing this state level analysis for the 4 major sexually transmitted diseases: Syphilis, HIV, Gonorrhea, and Chlamydia. Two different data sets from the CDC were used for this analysis. For chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis the number of new cases received by the CDC were examined; and for HIV the diagnosis rates reported by the states were examined. For all results the rate of cases per 100,000 people living in the state were examined to calculate the per-capita rate of STDs for each location.
Overall Alaska was found to have the highest rates of STDs in the nation, and West Virginia was found to have the lowest rates of STDs in the nation. Alaska’s rate was primarily driven by the very high rate of Chlamydia, and in West Virginia the low rate for that disease. Gonorrhea was found to be most common in Mississippi being 8 times more common there than it is in Vermont which is the state with the lowest rate for that disease. Syphilis is most common in Nevada by a considerable margin where it is 30 times more common than in Wyoming which is the state with the lowest rate for this disease. HIV infection is most common in Georgia while it is also least common in Wyoming.
The most prevalent STDs tracked by the CDC in America rates of new cases reported per 100,000 people are chlamydia at 539.9, gonorrhea at 179.1, HIV at 14.0, and syphilis at 10.8. Chlamydia is the most common of the major STDs with nearly 540 out of 100,000 reports per year, this is more than twice as common than gonorrhea, HIV and syphilis combined. However, with the exception of HIV these diseases can be cured, but it is important to catch them early to minimize their damage.
The top 10 ranking states for the highest STDs new cases in America are (in order of high to low):
Alaska, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, New Mexico, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.
The 10 states with the lowest new cases of STDs in America are (in order of high to low):
Montana, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and West Virginia.
The top 10 ranking states for the highest new cases of chlamydia in order are:
Alaska, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico. South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, New York, and Illinois.
The 10 states with the least amount of new reported chlamydia cases in order are:
West Virginia, Vermont, New Hampshire, Utah, Maine, Wyoming, Idaho, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Massachusetts.
The top 10 ranking states for the highest new cases of gonorrhea are:
Mississippi, Alaska, South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, New Mexico, Missouri, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Oklahoma.
The 10 states with the least amount of new reported gonorrhea cases are:
Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Wyoming, West Virginia, Idaho, Utah, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Montana.
The top 10 ranking states for the highest new cases of HIV are:
Georgia, Louisiana, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, Texas, Mississippi, South Carolina, New York, and Alabama.
The 10 states with the least amount of new reported HIV cases are:
Wyoming, Maine, New Hampshire, Idaho, Vermont, Montana, Utah, Iowa, Alaska, and Kansas.
The top 10 ranking states for the highest new cases of syphilis are:
Nevada, California, Mississippi, Georgia, Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, Florida, Oklahoma, and New York.
The 10 states with the least amount of new reported syphilis cases are:
Vermont, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Idaho, Iowa, Delaware, West Virginia, Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota.
Within America there is an enormous variance in the prevalence of STDs by location, for some diseases and STD can be as much as 30 times more likely in one state than another. Overall places such as Alaska, Mississippi and Louisiana have the highest rates of STDs, and West Virginia, Vermont, and New Hampshire have the lowest rates. Given that STDs are by definition locally transmitted it shouldn’t be too surprising that the prevalence of these diseases are closely associated with the location/geography.
