STD Rates For Most Seniors Rise

By: Pat Prescott
02/09/2012 12:20 AM ET

STD rates for seniors are on the rise because Americans are living longer, healthier lives, according to new research published by the British Medical Journal.

The publication says that the STD rates prove that many seniors, about 80 percent of them, have a rise in sexual drives thanks to new drugs and medications.

“We are living longer, and we are healthier,” stated Clinical Sexologist Kaye Renshaw. “A healthy sexual relationship is a possibility until death.”

The problem is when people get older, they fail to use protection, which causes a rise in sexually transmitted diseases.

“Once you pass menopause, you don’t have to worry about pregnancy,” stated Margaret Dean with the Texas Tech Health Science Center.

According to numbers by the CDC, in adult’s ages 45 to 64 STDs such as syphilis and chlamydia have tripled in the last 10 years, gonorrhea has also increased.

Dean indicated that disease can spread among older people if they have multiple sex partners and don’t even know that they have an STD, even if they go to the doctor for routine check-ups and blood work.

“Part of the testing process for people with Alzheimer’s dementia includes testing for syphilis and HIV,” she said. “Unless you see that there might be a problem, you probably wouldn’t look in that direction.”

Source: STD Rates Seniors Rise