Sexually Transmitted Infections Are Becoming More Common in Older Adults, CDC Data Show

Fact checked by Nick Blackmer

• STI rates have risen steeply among people 55 and older during the past decade, CDC data show.

• Several factors, including a lack of education, prevention, and testing for STIs among older Americans, are linked to the rise.

• Experts say these rising rates can be reduced with more sexual health resources specifically for the senior population.

Rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have risen steeply among people 55 and older during the past decade, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Information from the agency’s latest STI surveillance report revealed that between 2012 and 2022, the number of gonorrhea cases among this age group rose about fivefold. Chlamydia cases have tripled, while syphilis cases have increased by roughly seven times during that period.

While rate increases among older adults have been particularly dramatic, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis diagnoses are soaring overall. Between 2018 and 2022, syphilis rates, in particular, spiked, rising nearly 80%.

“While we traditionally think about young people being disproportionately affected, and this remains true, the increase in STIs in older adults reminds us that STIs can affect anyone who is sexually active regardless of age,” Jason Zucker, MD, an infectious disease expert and assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, told Health.

Here’s what you need to know about what’s behind the STI rate rise among older adults and what can be done to protect this age group from infection.

Why STI Cases Are Rising Among Older Adults

Experts pointed to several reasons for the increase in STIs among this age group.

For one, people stay healthier and live longer. “As part of this, sexuality and intimacy have remained important for many adults into later years,” Katherine Rotker, MD, a urologist and assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine, told Health.

More older people are also taking medications to ease conditions such as menopause-related vaginal dryness and erectile dysfunction, which in the past may have prevented people from having sex, Zucker explained.

And, compared to younger generations, this older one lacks education about preventing and testing for STIs, according to Hugh Taylor, MD, chair of OB/GYN at Yale School of Medicine.

Experts say these factors raise the potential for STI exposure among an age group susceptible to infection due to lack of condom use and attention paid to their sexual health by medical professionals.

Physical changes that occur after menopause can also make it easier for women to contract infections, Taylor added. “Normal barriers to infection are not as strong, with the vagina becoming thinner, cervical mucus decreasing, and the acidity of the vagina decreasing,” he said.

What Can Be Done to Reduce Rates

Experts say there are a few ways to help reduce infections among older adults, including providing more education for medical professionals.

“We need to do a better job training providers who care for older adults in regularly taking a sexual history, assessing their older adults’ sexual health needs, and offering and providing comprehensive sexual health services,” Zucker said. “Older adults frequently have a primary care doctor they see regularly, giving us the perfect opportunity to bring these services to them.”

Such services should include offering free condoms and lubricants accompanied by educational resources, he said, as well as behavioral counseling, vaccinations, routine screenings, and preventative treatments like doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (Doxy-PEP) that protect someone from an STI after potential exposure.

Experts say it’s important that messaging around STI prevention target older people in addition to the young.

“If you look at most sexual health and STI advertising, you see very youth-focused materials: bright colors, photos of young people,” Zucker said. “Alongside educating healthcare providers, efforts should be made to enhance sexual health communications and the accessibility of services in venues frequented by older adults.”

People can also protect themselves and others by being proactive about their sexual health, Taylor added.

“Older patients should be sure to let their health care provider know if they are sexually active and ask to discuss healthy, safe sex,” he said.

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