Gonorrhea rates: what denominator is most appropriate?

Abstract

We used traditional crude population denominators and four different definitions of sexual activity to calculate progressively more refined gonorrhea rates among reproductive age women. Refining denominators to take sexual activity into account had the largest impact on morbidity rates for young women. Traditional denominators severely underestimate gonorrhea rates in teenagers, and understate the real magnitude of gonorrhea risk among sexually active teenagers.