Sexually transmitted infections have gotten more common in older people.
The rate of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in people 55 and older within the U.S. greater than doubled within the 10 years from 2012 to 2022, data shows. data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Syphilis cases among people aged 55 and older increased sevenfold during this time, gonorrhea cases increased almost fivefold during this time, and chlamydia cases greater than tripled during this time.
The presentation to be given on Thursday – a part of an event ahead of the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases next month – warns that each doctors and older persons are underestimating the chance of sexually transmitted diseases on this age group.
“We talk about smoking, we talk about diet, exercise and many other issues, but it’s not about sex at all,” said Justyna Kowalska, creator of the presentation and professor of medication on the Medical University of Warsaw.
The problem isn’t limited to the US. In England, monitoring data published in 2022 suggests that the variety of STI diagnoses increased by 22% between 2014 and 2019 among people aged 45 and over. Chlamydia was probably the most common, followed by gonorrhea.
Kowalska pointed to several aspects that may increase the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases among older people.
First, persons are living longer in comparison with previous generations and having fun with more energetic lifestyles of their 60s, 70s and 80s. For many, this also includes sex. AND 2018 study from AARP and the University of Michigan estimated that 40% of individuals ages 65 to 80 are sexually energetic and nearly two-thirds are desirous about sex.
Hormone substitute therapy, which may treat menopausal symptoms, can delay sex drive in older women, while erectile dysfunction medications like Viagra can assist older men remain sexually energetic.
But in accordance with Matthew Lee Smith, an associate professor at Texas A&M School of Public Health, older adults may not have had the sex education that is now provided to teenagers.
“In the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, traditional schooling didn’t really do sex education in a very formal way,” said Smith, who studies behavioral health risks for older adults.
Smith tests showed that older people lack certain knowledge about STI transmission, symptoms and prevention.
He said doctors could also be shy about asking older patients about their sexual intercourse, and older persons are often not willing to debate their sex lives with peers or relations.
“Nobody wants to think that grandma would do that,” Smith said. “You certainly wouldn’t ask your grandma if she wore condoms – and that’s part of the problem, because every person, regardless of age, has the right to intimacy.”
Smith says some older men may have trouble using condoms as a consequence of lack of dexterity or erectile dysfunction.
Moreover, he added, many older people married at a younger age than is now typical, and had just one sexual partner until divorce or widowhood. That’s why some people may not think to make use of a condom, Smith said – especially since pregnancy is not a difficulty.
Nursing homes also provide opportunities for brand new sexual partners. Results A American study Nursing home directors, published in 2016, showed that sexual intercourse is common in these facilities, which regularly house more women than men.
“There is a partnership gap in the heterosexual older adult community: women live longer than men and there is a higher proportion of women relative to men,” Smith said. “This can often lead to multiple partners and sharing of partners.”
While sexually transmitted diseases pose health risks to all age groups, older people may have a harder time eliminating infections or be more prone to contracting them, medical examiners say.
“Your immune system is weaker, so you’re more likely to get an infection, but there are other physical factors associated with sexual intimacy that increase your susceptibility to infection,” said Ethan Morgan, an assistant professor of epidemiology at The Ohio State University College of Nursing. For example, in postmenopausal women, the vaginal lining is more prone to tears, which makes it easier for infections to occur.
Experts stressed that doctors must do more to debate secure sex with older patients.
“We want them to have the best life possible,” Smith said, “but we want them to have it safely.”
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