lIDO
ACo
reported
cent among and young dol
in the t two years. T'bere &Ie over
9,000 reported AIDS among
13 to 24 year olda aDd federal.. tb
officials .. y thouaandl more are
probably HIV Infected, but do DOt
know it. AIDS II DOW the aixth lead
ing cause of death among 'persoDS
geeS IS to 24.
"AIDS' an equal opportunity
killer," ys Dr. Bugene S. Ogrod, II,
MD, president of the American
Society of Internal Medicine
(ASIM) "Teenagers-are mla1aken if
they think they are immune." Dr.
Ogrod, an internist in Sacramento,
Calif., says the growing number of
AIDS cases among doleacenta cor
relates with .. reported rile in aexual
ctivity among teeDS.
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Federal bealth ofllclala eatlma
that more than two-tblrds of U.s.
adolescenll wfil be aexually active
before they leave high 1C0001. By
age 18, about 6S percent of males
and almo t half of females have
engaged in sexual intercourse. Of
that pup, y are iDvolYed lD
. sexual pract1cea that put them a
higher risk of contracting AIDS:
Of persona who have had sex
before the age of 20, fewer than half
report condom usc.
. More than 20 percent of high
school studenll have had four or
more sexual partDers, and up to a
quarter of all sexually.active teens
have engaged in anal intercourse.
Dr. Ogrod says abstinence Is the
beat way for teeDS to awid HIV in
fection, but be says it clear that
many young people ire, and will
continue to be, sexually active. With
that in mind, be says educational ef
forts mmt be redoubled "to teach
kids the truth about how AIDS Is
spread and how the risk of contract
ing AIDS can be D$lmized."
DROGRODSAYSa�o�
who is sexually active should take
steps to reduce the risk of HIV trans
mission during sexual contact.
Those steps include: avOiding
sexual contact with thole at rilk of
being infected with HIV; awidbig
high risk sexual activities, especially
those that injure body tiasuea or .
result in the exchange of body fi\llda; .
and using condoms properly during
all sexual contld-from the begin
ning to the end of the activity-to.
reduce the ria of spread of AIDS
.. and other sexUally transmitted dis
eases.
Many teenagers still think only
homosexuals are at risk of contract
ing AIDS. Dr. Ogrod says that myth
needs to be punctured. "The fact is
more young people are getting AIDS ,
through heterosexual than
. homosexual contact," says Dr.
Ogrod. He also DOtes. that almost 81
many females as male adoleacenll
have AIDS.
Parenti ve a ro to pia)'
Many parents 'are no doubt U;D
comfortable dlscuIIing AIDS with .
their children, but Dr. Ogrod says •
frank discussion of the issue could be
a life-saver. "Certainly, this is a dif
fi�ult subject to broach," says Dr. ,
Ogrod, "but a teenager who doesn't
have his or her facts straight about
AIDS is at a great risk of contracting
the disease, and even worse, pread
log the HIV vtrus to someone else."
Parents y need more informa-
tion on the disease to have an in
formed discussion about the disease.
Dr. Ogrod says most local bealth
HEALTH
,
•
IV
I
•
I
on. Thi i vital information to
people who d ign or provide com
munity ervtces.
We encourage frien or family
embe that are the majorcaregiver
of an Alzehiemer' patient to par
ticipate in the CAP STIJDY (Caring
for Alzheimer' Patien ). This
S'UR GE 0 N GE N E RAl'S WARN IN G: Smoking
C a use s l un 9 Can c e r. H e art 0 is e a.s e ,
Emphysema, And May Complicate Pregnancy.
A someone c ring for an
Alzheimer' p tient, you 0 from
first-hand experience how difficult
this care can be. Only people like
yourself know fully hat it is like to
care for a person with Alzheimer'
disease and hat types of service
could be o( help to you or your loved
Program i to erve minoritie who
oth rwi e might not w re of
help for memory 10 proble .
Scrvi include:
- Complete medical workup by
dodo nd taffwith pecial train
ing gin dementi d dise of
the b n;
- Education and counseling to
help P tien nd family members
tudy i being conducted by Dr.
Ro alie Young of th School of
Medicine at Wayne State University.
Dr. Young i eeking African
Americans and Caucasians that care
for a person who lives either in the
home of tbe caregiver or hi /her own
To find out t you can do to
lp end or loved one, n the
Metro-Detroit Alzheimer's 0
Pro m: (313) 256-
•
I
hom, within 6O-mile radi of
downtown Detroit.
To receive dditional information
or enroll in the CAP STUDY, pi e
contact Dr. R alie Young t Wayne
State University: 313/S'n-l033.