Over the last decade, thanks to a laissez faire attitude towards condom use, rates of sexually transmitted infections have doubled among men aged 45 and over, and experts writing in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections say the problem is likely to worsen. The authors of the study say that the problem has largely been hidden because health authorities have focused almost exclusively on the sexual health of young people, while ignoring older age groups.
The startling new figures come from an analysis of sexually transmitted infections diagnosed in 19 sexual health clinics in the United Kingdom. The analysis spanned eight years between 1996 and 2003. In total, 4,445 infections were identified among mostly straight people aged 45 and older.
The most commonly diagnosed infection among the over 45s was genital warts, accounting for almost half (45 percent) of the episodes. Herpes was the next most common, accounting for almost one in five (19 percent). The researchers noted that men and women between the ages of 55 and 59 were significantly more likely to have an infection than anyone else.
The figures indicated that cases of Chlamydia, herpes, warts, gonorrhea and syphilis all rose sharply. And the cumulative rate of infections more than doubled from 16 per 100,000 of the population in 1996 to 36 per 100,000 of the population in 2003.
Intervention programs aimed at preventing sexually transmitted infections should be tailored towards different age groups and do more to dispel myths and assumptions about the level of sexual activity among older age groups, say the researchers. "Indeed, it may be argued that older people are more susceptible as they are less likely to use condoms than younger people," they note, adding that as successive waves of people with more liberal sexual attitudes and behaviors age, the problem is likely to worsen.
Related:
STDs Preferable To Condom Use For Many Men
Question Mark Over Condoms Preventing Non-HIV STDs
HPV - Warts And All
Syphilis Infection Rate Continues To Rise
Study Shows Oral Sex Risky For Common STD
Source: British Medical Journal
