Data show 2016 to 2022 saw increase in rate of maternal syphilis

There was an increase in maternal syphilis rates in women giving birth in the United States from 2016 to 2022, according to a February data brief published by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Elizabeth C.W. Gregory, M.P.H., and Danielle M. Ely, Ph.D., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, present trends in maternal syphilis rates in women giving birth in the United States for 2016 to 2022.

The researchers found that in mothers giving birth in the United States, the overall rate of syphilis increased from 87.2 to 280.4 per 100,000 births from 2016 to 2022. The rate of syphilis increased for all maternal race and Hispanic-origin groups, with the largest increase for American Indian and Alaska Native non-Hispanic mothers (from 159.7 to 1,410.5 per 100,000 births).

All maternal age groups had an increase in the syphilis rate, with the largest increase seen for mothers younger than 20 years (from 107.3 to 418.6 per 100,000 births). The syphilis rate increased for all prenatal care categories from 2016 to 2022. In 47 states and the District of Columbia, the rate of syphilis increased from 2016–2017 to 2021–2022.

"From 2016 to 2022, the rate of maternal syphilis rose 222 percent in the United States, reaching 280.4 per 100,000 births in 2022," the authors write. "Increases in syphilis rates were widespread, rising for all maternal race and Hispanic-origin and age groups, prenatal care categories, and nearly all reporting areas."