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New data shows that sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis and gonorrhea are increasing faster among older Americans than any other age group.
Numbers Between 2020 and 2023, sexually transmitted disease diagnoses increased by 23.8% among people ages 65 and older and 16.2% among people ages 55 to 64, but decreased among people under 25, according to a study by health research nonprofit FAIR Health.
This is consistent with previous data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and countries around the world, and points to a longer-term trend that cannot be explained simply by changes in testing rates or the end of COVID-19 lockdowns.
Experts believe the rise in infections is due to older people becoming more sexually active than ever before but less likely to get tested for STIs or take precautions against them.
“Many health care providers and society mistakenly assume that older people don’t have sex, don’t want to have sex, or are unable to have sex,” said Matthew Lee Smith, 45, a public health professor at Texas A&M University who studies sexual behavior among older adults. Independent.
Smith’s research has found that older Americans, on average, have lower levels of knowledge and education about STIs and their risks, in part because they grew up with less formal sex education.
“Good kids didn’t do that, bad kids did. That’s how we were taught about sex half a century ago.” Joan PriceAn 80-year-old sex educator living in California, Naked at our age: Talking aloud about senior sex.
“Older people are having sex more and are becoming more sexually active. They’re finding ways to cope with challenges and feeling acknowledged and heard in ways they didn’t feel in our society.”
“But it also works to the patient’s disadvantage, as doctors don’t even think to ask whether they should be tested when they go in for a routine checkup,” Price said.
“A lot of women start dating again after a divorce or the death of a spouse, but they haven’t dated in 40 or 50 years. They thought pregnancy was the only thing they had to worry about.”
March, According to CDC data: Between 2012 and 2022, diagnoses of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis more than doubled in people aged 55 and older, with syphilis increasing sevenfold.
Similar trends It has been reported China, South Korea, Kenya, Botswana and the UK saw a 22% increase in STIs among people aged 45 and over between 2014 and 2019.
Price said one of the main reasons is that people are staying healthier and more energetic for longer than ever before, making it easier to maintain (or even start) an active sex life.
But she also argued that the growing culture of sex education for seniors, and the widespread use of the internet and online dating, are giving older people new confidence and possibilities, despite persistent prejudice from younger generations.
Smith also cited the increasing availability of sexually enhancing medical procedures, such as Viagra for erectile dysfunction and hormone therapy for menopause, as well as the increasing number of older people living together in nursing homes and villages.
But older people exploring this new territory, especially if they have recently left longstanding monogamous marriages, are often doing so based on beliefs, instincts, and knowledge absorbed decades ago.
Price said that could mean increased shame about talking openly about STIs or a lack of confidence in negotiating boundaries, like always wearing a condom.
“At the end of [my dating workshop] “Whenever I talk about safe sex, audiences always agree with me up to that point,” Price says, “and then they say, ‘No, no, no! Don’t say that! I don’t really want to face that.'”
Some older men may be reluctant to wear condoms because they already suffer from erectile dysfunction and don’t want to do anything that could reduce sensation, she added.
Smith said older adults may also feel embarrassed about buying condoms or talking to a doctor about sexually transmitted diseases because of social stigma.
Moreover, because women have a longer life expectancy than men, the dating market for older adults is often significantly more gender-unequal, at least among heterosexuals, which Smith says could lead to higher rates of partner sharing and thus faster spread of the virus.
To combat the rise, Smith argues society needs to be more accepting of older people’s sex lives and make them feel more comfortable talking about them.
He recommends that doctors regularly ask older patients about their sexual activity and test them for sexually transmitted diseases when necessary.
Price also advises older adults to always carry condoms in situations where sexual activity involving the penis is likely, and to always use contraception unless they are in a monogamous relationship.
“People need to understand that condoms are not going to be a huge detriment to your sex life. They actually make a lot of things possible because they give you the peace of mind to do things that you wouldn’t be able to do safely without a condom,” she said.
