Late Bloomers More Vulnerable To STDs

Late bloomers can be more vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases. That’s the result of a study from the University of Manchester http://www.man.ac.uk . The risk of an infection seems to be more closely connected with reaching sexual maturity than with earlier sexual experiences. The scientists assume that girls who mature early are protected to a certain extent by higher levels of oestrogen. The results of the study were published in the professional magazine Sexually Transmitted Infections http://sti.bmjjournals.com.

127 young women from three hospitals participated in the analysis. All of them had had their first period within the recent five years and were aged 17 years or younger.

The participants were tested for genital infections such as Chlamydia, human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and bacterial Vaginosis. Almost two thirds were HPV positive. Half of these women belonged to a risk group, which is connected with the development of cervical cancer. More than half of those infected with HPV suffered at least from one other infection. One in four women was tested positively for Chlamydia.

This test result is normally associated with infertility.

It was shown, that specific patterns of behaviour had consequences for certain infections.

A recently occurred changing of partner or the use of condoms decreased the risk of a Chlamydia infection. The application of emergency measures for contraception doubled this risk.

Sexual intercourse during the period increased the risk of a bacterial Vaginosis.

Smoking raised the protection against HPV.

Sexual maturity had a significant impact on all three infection types. Women who matured earlier were not as vulnerable to suffer from one of these infections. This connection also remained when other factors such as the number of sexual partners were considered.

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