Global Analysis of STDs

Lower-commitment dating relationships, especially those facilitated by apps, are associated with higher STD risk due to behavioral and network factors. The burden is concentrated in several Southern states, with mixed national trends across infections: some declines, but severe increases in congenital syphilis. For actionable state-by-state “increase” metrics, targeted pulls from state surveillance and CDC data are needed; current public summaries more reliably provide rates and rankings than standardized growth figures