Sexually transmitted illnesses are becoming increasingly frequent among older people.
According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis among those aged 55 and above more than quadrupled in the United States between 2012 and 2022.
In that decade, syphilis infections among those aged 55 and above surged sevenfold, gonorrhea cases almost quadrupled, and chlamydia cases more than tripled.
Leading up to next month’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, a presentation is scheduled for Thursday. The presentation cautions that physicians and older people alike are ignoring the hazards of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in this demographic.
“We talk about smoking, we talk about diet, exercise, so many things, and not about sex at all,” said Justyna Kowalska, the author of the presentation and a professor of medicine at the Medical University of Warsaw.
The problem is not restricted to the U.S. According to monitoring statistics released in 2022, the number of sexually transmitted infection diagnoses among adults aged 45 and older increased by 22% between 2014 and 2019. Chlamydia was the most prevalent, followed by gonorrhea.
According to Kowalska, there are a number of potential causes for the alarmingly high STI prevalence among the elderly.
For one, individuals are living longer compared to earlier generations and enjoying more active lives in their 60s, 70s and 80s. For many, it includes sex. A 2018 poll by AARP and the University of Michigan showed that 40% of persons aged 65 to 80 are sexually active, and almost two-thirds are interested in sex.
Hormone replacement treatment, which may alleviate symptoms of menopause, can extend sexual desire in older women, while erectile dysfunction medications like Viagra can help older men stay sexually active.
But older folks may not have received the sort of sex education offered to students today, according to Matthew Lee Smith, an associate professor at the Texas A&M School of Public Health.
“Back in the ’30s, the ’40s, and the ’50s, traditional school wasn’t really doing sexual education very formally,” said Smith, who researches behavioral health risks in older persons.
Smith’s study has indicated that older people lack some understanding regarding STI transmission, symptoms, and prevention.
According to him, senior citizens often have little desire to talk about their sexual lives with friends or family members, and physicians might be reluctant to question their elderly patients about their sexual activities.
Smith said, “Nobody wants to think about grandma doing this.” “You’re not going to question grandma about her condom use, and that’s part of the issue because everyone has the right to intimacy, regardless of age.”
According to Smith, erectile dysfunction or a lack of dexterity in certain elderly men may make it difficult for them to use condoms.
Furthermore, he said, a lot of elderly folks were married earlier than is customary these days and only had one sexual partner before getting divorced or being widowed. Smith said that because pregnancy is not a worry, some people may not consider wearing a condom.
There are also chances for new Sexually partners in nursing homes. Sexual activity was prevalent at nursing homes, which often had a higher proportion of female residents than male residents, according to the findings of a 2016 U.S. study of nursing facility directors.
“There’s a partner gap in the heterosexual, older adult community: women live longer than men and make up a larger proportion of the population than men,” Smith said. “Partner sharing and having multiple partners are what it can often lead to.”
While STIs may affect people of any age, medical professionals noted that older adults may find it more difficult to recover from infections or may be more vulnerable to getting them in the first place.
“There are other physical factors related to just sexual intimacy that make one more susceptible, but the immune system is weaker, so you can get an infection easier,” said Ethan Morgan, an assistant professor of epidemiology at The Ohio State University College of Nursing. For example, the vaginal lining is more likely to rupture in postmenopausal women, which increases the risk of infection.
The experts emphasized that healthcare providers should talk to elderly people more effectively about safe Sexually behavior.
Smith said, “We want the best life for them, but we also want it to be safe.”
SOURCE: NBC NEWS
