Cases of gonorrhea have risen 145% in Iowa since 2013, the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced Monday.

IDPH also reports a significant rise in the past two years with 3,600 cases in 2017 compared to 2,600 cases in 2016.

Increases are occurring in both women and men, but the rate of increase is higher among men which “likely signals an increase among men who have sex with men,” according to the IDPH report.

About 80 percent of Iowa gonorrhea diagnoses are among persons 15 to 34 years of age.

Despite making up about 3.5 percent of Iowa’s population, just under 30 percent of the gonorrhea diagnoses occur among black/African American populations.

By comparison, about 60 percent of the diagnoses are among white populations and they make up about 91 percent of Iowa’s population.

"Factors like neighborhood location, economic opportunity, income, rates of incarceration and even the number of alcohol outlets in particular neighborhoods have been associated with higher rates of STDs in some populations," said IDPH STD Program Manager George Walton.

"Further analysis is needed to determine which factors are most important in Iowa for each population that is disproportionately affected."