The lifestyle of older adults is receiving new attention after findings found older adults are at higher risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and their infection rates have nearly doubled over the past decade.
Researchers at Kings College and Saint Thomas’s Hospital in London examined infection rate for STDs over the past decade. During this time, the researchers found that the infection rate nearly doubled. In the study, population groups were divided by age, adults in their 50s, 60s, and 70s, and they were examined for chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis.
Currently, there is not too much research examining the lifestyles of older populations and their sex lives. As a result, understanding their lifestyle is a avenue of new interest. With safe sex practices, including condom use, primarily focusing on younger populations, older populations may be falling through the cracks on receiving reminders on safe sex practices. As a result, their STD infection rates are growing.
Some older men experience biological changes, leading them to use drugs that address their erectile dysfunction. With this treatment, men may find more ease with setting the mood. In addition, women also undergo biological changes as they age. Postmenopausal changes include decreased lubrication in the vagina, which can lead to increased risk of infections in older women. Thus with unsafe sex practices, infection rates can soar. However, more research is needed to confirm these links.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2000, there were 885 reported cases of syphilis among the 45 to 64-year-old population. In 2010, there were 2,500 reported cases of syphilis among the same population group.
In 2000, there were 6,700 reported cases of chlamydia among the 45 to 64-year-old population, and in 2010, there were more than 19,000 reported cases of chlamydia.
In addition, the numbers of older people with HIV has doubled, leading to 15 percent of new diagnoses of HIV in the U.S. to be considered in the older population, aged 50-years-old and older.
The U.S. is not the only country facing this trend. In Canada, between 1997 and 2007, the number of gonorrhea cases among adults, aged 40 to 59-years-old, started at 379infection cases and rose to 1,502 infection cases. For chlamydia, there were 997 reported infection cases and 3,387 reported infection cases for 1997 and 2007, respectively. For syphilis, the number of infection cases started at 34, in 1997, and in 2007, the number of infection summed to 527.
Other studies have found similar trends. A 2010 study from Indiana University found the lowest rates of condom use were among people ages 45 and older, which could explain the high STD rates today.
