Epidemiology

Estimates of the prevalence of cervicitis range widely. Because cervicitis is not a reportable disease and clinical or diagnostic criteria are not fully standardised, published findings vary greatly. In a study of sexually active, non-pregnant adolescent and young women in the US military, rigorous testing with endocervical, urine, and vaginal swabs revealed a high incidence (up to 14%) of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the population not seeking treatment for STIs.[2]

Chlamydial infection is the most common bacterial STI in resource-rich countries.[3] In England, in 2021 there were 297 cases per 100,000 women, and in the US in 2023 there were 610.7 cases per 100,000 women (a decrease from 621.2 cases per 100,000 women in 2022, possibly due to decreased screening during the COVID-19 pandemic).[4]​​[5]​​​​ In the US and UK, women aged 20 to 24 years have the highest rate of chlamydial infection, followed by women aged 15 to 19 years.[4]​​[5]​​ Black people in the US are approximately five times more likely than white people to be diagnosed with a chlamydial infection.[4]​ 

Gonorrhoea is the second most common STI in the UK and the US, with 130.7 cases per 100,000 women reported in the US in 2023.[4] The lowest rate of gonorrhoea in the US was recorded in 2009 (98.1 cases per 100,000); over the past 10 years, gonorrhoea rates in women have increased 30.2%.[4]​​ During 2022 to 2023, rates of reported gonorrhoea decreased among both men (3.4%) and women (14.1%), although these years coincide with the COVID-19 pandemic, which introduced uncertainty and difficulty in interpreting STI surveillance data.[4]

Rates are highest in women aged 20 to 24 years, with 610.5 cases per 100,000 women in this age group in the US and 478.4 cases per 100,000 women in England.[4]​​[5] In the US, women of black ancestry have a rate that remains higher than other races/ethnicities and is approximately eight times higher than the rate in white women.[4]

The World Health Organization estimates that there are 374 million new infections globally per year (roughly 1 million per day) globally per year of the four curable STIs - chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, and trichomoniasis. WHO: global progress report on HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections, 2021 Opens in new window​​

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