Should a legend retire because he is 77?

Should a legend retire because he is 77?

We have a lot of work to do in breaking down stereotypes of older adults and aging.

Recently, I heard a reporter ask a radio show guest, "What do you think of Leonard Cohen releasing a new album now that he is 77 years old?" The guest's response was: "He still has something to say and people want to hear it."

The Canadian icon just released his first studio album since 2004. And he just happens to be 77 years old. Fans have been waiting with baited breath for some new material from him. Still cool, mysterious, sexy and overflowing with talent, of course people want to hear what Cohen has to say.

How odd to think that entering the third quarter of life would prevent this talented man from producing beautiful art.

Age doesn't prevent people having ideas nor wanting to share those ideas with an audience. Creativity, passion and wisdom are uniquely human aspects that need to be cultivated and shared.

A legend maintains status in our collective subconscious because we place value on it. A legend represents something that we hold dear, sacred. This is how it should be. A man or woman who is 77 years old still has ideas, dreams, thoughts and wisdom to share.

They may not have a global audience like Cohen, but they still have something to say that can have a positive impact. Sometimes we just need to listen more closely rather than counting the number of years the person has existed.

Doctors See More STDs in Older Patients

Meredith Heagney, The Columbus Dispatch
February 26, 2012

Nobody reminds Grandpa to wear a condom, but maybe we should.

Today’s older adults are living longer, healthier lives that often include sex. Doctors say that’s good news, because it means the physical and emotional benefits of sex aren’t restricted to the young.

But sexual freedom in the golden years has a downside, too: Physicians say they’re seeing a growing number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases among older patients.

“Age is not a reason for people to stop having sex,” said Dr. Sharon A. Brangman, chairwoman of the board of directors of the American Geriatrics Society and chief of geriatrics at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, N.Y.

“We need to counter some of the myths we have about aging and sexuality. We need to have educational campaigns so older adults continue to practice safe sex, particularly if they have multiple partners.”

Older people are at risk because many believe they need not worry about safe sex when pregnancy isn’t a possibility, said Dr. Mysheika LeMaile-Williams, medical director at Columbus Public Health.

After a death or divorce, older men and women might be dating for the first time in decades, and they missed many of the messages about protecting against disease, she said.

And with erectile-dysfunction drugs such as Viagra, many older men are back in the mix.

Heinz and Waltraud Putz live in Worthington and have been married since 1959. Mr. Putz, 77, said the couple knows a number of older people who have multiple sex partners.

“If your girlfriend is 70,” STDs are “the last thing you worry about,” he said recently as he watched his wife participate in a line-dancing class at the Griswold Center in Worthington.

“I can’t imagine any of these girls having anything like that.”

But doctors say that’s not the case.

“STDs don’t discriminate by age,” LeMaile-Williams said.

Nationally, there was a slight increase in syphilis rates for people 65 or older from 2000 to 2010 and a decrease in gonorrhea and chlamydia rates, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The rates are still very low; the most common disease of the three, chlamydia, is reported in just 2.4 of every 100,000 adults 65 and older, or 954 cases in 2010. In recent years, people 50 and older have accounted for 11 percent of new HIV infections in the United States.

In Ohio, the rates of adults 65 and older with gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis decreased in 2006-2010, according to Ohio Department of Health figures.

In 2009, there were just eight new reported diagnoses of HIV (with or without AIDS) in adults 65 and older in Ohio, the same number as in 2000. In that time period, the number of people between the ages of 45 and 64 with a new HIV or AIDS diagnosis rose from 170 to 261.

Experts say, however, that these numbers are low because they are likely underreported. While sexually transmitted diseases are reportable, doctors often treat STDs without confirming its presence with a test. No confirmation, no reporting.

Either way, some older men and women are taking precautions.

Elizabeth Collins, 78, said she has dated 41 men since her divorce in the 1980s. She said she hasn’t been intimate with all of them, and when she does have sex, she makes her partners get tested for AIDS.

She “loves sex” but still chooses to take her relationships slowly, said Collins, who lives on the Northwest Side.

“When they start to get frisky, I say to them, ‘As handsome as you are ... people should be friends before they’re lovers.’  ”

Rates of sexually transmitted diseases could increase among older people as baby boomers age, said Dr. Robert Murden, a professor of geriatrics and internal medicine at Ohio State University.

He said those who came of age in the 1960s likely will change the culture of old age.

And as long as they are safe, that’s fine, Murden said.

“Older people need that closeness and intimacy as much as younger people do.”

Original link: http://www.globalaging.org/health/us/2012/Ohio%20STDs.html

Health Watch: The Aging Love Life

Stephanie Stahl, CBS
February 20, 2012


Forty years of research is turning conventional wisdom on its head when it comes to the issue of women and sex. The experts say it gets better with age.

“Your husband wants it and you kind of go along with it,” said Susan Courtney, who is 56-years-old. Sex was never really at the top of her priority list.

“You’re running around and car pooling,” said Susan. But now that this mom is in her 50’s, her feelings towards sex have drastically changed.

“I look forward to it more,” said Susan. She isn’t the only woman whose sex life is getting better with age, according to a new study from the University of California.

“This is not a part of your life that shuts down,” said Bat Sheva Marcus, a Sexual Dysfunction Specialist.

The study followed 800 women over forty years, and looked at all aspects of their sex lives from desire to frequency. The majority say they had increased sexual satisfaction as they aged – findings that come as no surprise to Marcus.

“What irritates me is we as a society think, ‘Oh, sex only lasts until your 29 and you know after that, it’s just going to be downhill from there,’” said Marcus. She says there are so many stereotypes when it comes to women and sex, like women are rarely ‘in the mood’ especially as they age and have to deal with physical changes, like menopause.

“I think that’s a horrible myth,” said Marcus. She says there are several reasons why mature women have better sex.

“There’s less guilt. There’s less distraction as your kids get older. There’s more emotional stability,” said Marcus.

Ann Karrick, who’s in her forties, says so many aspects of life improve with age, why not sex too?

“If you know yourself better, almost everything I think becomes better,” said Ann.

Ultimately Marcus says most women with more life experience have no problem asking for what they want.

“There’s nothing embarrassing about a 65-year-old woman who wants to have a vibrant sex life,” said Marcus.

Susan says she’s looking forward to being one of them.

“I don’t see myself as getting to be an aged person, who can’t be sexual. I don’t see that,” said Susan.

Some experts say sex lives get better because older women also have more time to feel good about themselves, in a way they didn’t have when they were 30.

Original link: http://www.globalaging.org/health/us/2012/Aging%20Love%20Life.html