Clinicians may need to pay more attention to teen boys' sexual health

 

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Children's Center conducted two studies which reveal that teen boys may need as much attention as their female counterparts when it comes to screening and education on sexual health, the Johns Hopkins University Gazette reports.

Authors of the study found that primary care pediatricians were about three times more likely to ask girls about their sexual history than boys. Moreover, they were twice as likely to talk to girls about condom use.

"Many clinicians currently forgo delivering some or many of these services because of limited time during visits, lack of evidence on the benefit of doing so and absence of guidelines on how to go about it," says lead author Arik Marcell, quoted by the news source.

The researchers noted that about three-quarters of teen boys report having engaged in risky sexual behavior before reaching adulthood.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends proper condom use and regular testing for sexually transmitted diseases as safer sex practices. Additionally, sex education has been shown to reduce risky behavior in adolescents.