Medical researchers have raised concerns about a sharp rise in sexually transmitted infections among seniors.

In the United States, rates of STIs in people aged 55 and up rose sharply between 2012 and 2022. The increase in syphilis cases was seven-fold, while it was nearly five-fold for gonorrhoea and chlamydia cases tripled.

In England, STI diagnoses of people aged 45 and over were up 22% between 2014 and 2019, and a 2020 CSIRO study of Australian women determined that STI rates were increasing at a faster rate among seniors than younger people.

At a presentation in the lead-up to the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, researchers from the Medical University of Warsaw outlined factors that may be responsible for the trend.

They include: 

• People are living longer and are more active, including sexually active.

• Hormone Replacement Therapy can prolong sexual desire in older women, while Viagra and similar drugs are helping men remain sexually active.

• Older adults may not have had the same sex education that is now available, meaning some of them are unaware of behavioural risks and symptoms of STIs. Because pregnancy is not a concern, they may not be using protection.

• Older people have weaker immune systems, so they can acquire an infection more easily.

The experts also noted that retirement and aged care facilities are much more common than in the past, and they provided opportunities for sexual activity. 

The fact that women usually outnumber men in these situations could lead to multiple partnerships among older heterosexuals and the spread of STIs, they said. 

Matthew Lee Smith, an associate professor at the Texas A&M School of Public Health, said doctors need to do a better job of discussing safe sex with older patients. 

“We want them to have their best life,” he said, “but we want them to have it safely.” 

Related articles: NBC News, CSIRO