Many teenagers do not realize the risk of sexually transmitted diseases due to oral sex

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) – Many American teens and young adults underestimate the risk of sexually transmitted infections from unprotected oral sex, especially young men, a new study shows.

Doctors say that oral sex can transmit herpes, gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, HIV and human papilloma virus (HPV), which can lead to cervical cancer and head and neck cancer.

While there HPV vaccineis not widely used among young men, the researchers noted.

“Young people deserve to know the facts about the risks of oral sex,” said Dr. Tammy Chang, an associate professor of family medicine at Michigan Medicine – University of Michigan.

“It’s not just about sexually transmitted infections, it’s also about the risk of cancer later in life,” said Chang, director of the MyVoice survey at the university.

“Educating young people about the risks of oral sex today and making protection accessible and easy to use can begin to change cultural norms about oral sex and save lives,” the university said in a statement.

The text-based survey included more than 900 American teenagers and young adults, with an average age of 19, who were asked to rate how risky oral sex is on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the least risky.

Overall, 60% of participants rated unprotected oral sex 1, 2 or 3, but young women rated it 4 or 5 almost twice as often as young men, while young men were twice as likely to rate it 1 or 2.

Those who rated unprotected oral sex as low-risk focused mainly on the lack of risk of pregnancy and the lower risk of transmitting sexually transmitted infections compared to unprotected vaginal sex.

Just over half (54%) of respondents believe that their generation needs more education about the risks of oral sex and how to reduce those risks by using protective barriers such as dental dams and condoms.

One in five also stressed the need for more displays or discussions on protection during oral sex in popular culture to normalize this, according to the findings.

The results were published in the January issue Annals of family medicine .

More information

Find out more about oral sex and sexually transmitted infections at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.