Seniors Warned about STDs

By Meredith Hines-Dochterman, The Gazette
June 13, 2009

Silence about sex among the elderly is putting older adults’ health at risk, with experts warning that senior citizens are at increasing risk for HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 19 percent of all people with HIV/AIDS in this country are age 50 and older. The percentage could be higher because older people don’t get tested regularly.

“Menopause makes pregnancy a non-issue” for sexually active older adults, said Susan Milstein, an associate professor at Montgomery College in Maryland. “What many adults don’t realize is they still need to be careful.”

Seniors, unlike America’s youth, haven’t had formal sex education classes, making the concept of safe sex a foreign concept, at least for some. Also, older adults are less likely to discuss their sex lives with others, including doctors.

The AARP study “Sexuality at Midlife: 2004 Update of Attitudes and Behaviors” found that more adults in midlife are turning to health professionals to improve their sexual health, meaning more physicians are better prepared to deal with issues related to sexual health. But many older adults are not receiving treatment for a variety of illnesses and conditions that may or may not be STDs.

Older adults “have these incredibly healthy sex drives, and that’s OK. It’s normal,” Milstein said. “What we need is to have an open conversation that makes it OK.”

The conversation needs to occur at all levels — with partners, families, health officials, senior organizations and the media.

“Just because we don’t talk about it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening,” Milstein said.


Original source: http://www.globalaging.org/health/world/2009/stds.htm