A briefing on Thursday will highlight the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) findings on rising sexually transmitted infections (STI) among older adults.
Ahead of the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology in April, the briefing will talk about the overlooked STI risks in older adults, with Professor Justyna Kowalska of the Medical University of Warsaw pointing out the lack of discussion on sexual health among this group, NBC News reported.
The number of syphilis cases among people ages 55 and up increased seven-fold over a 10-year period from 2012 to 2022, while gonorrhea cases increased nearly five-fold and chlamydia cases more than tripled during that time. https://t.co/CyQusrWs7O
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“We talk about smoking, we talk about diet, exercise, so many things, and not about sex at all,” Kowalska said, according to NBC News.
CDC reports a surge in STI among U.S. adults over 55, with chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis cases soaring from 2012 to 2022. Syphilis cases alone skyrocketed sevenfold, gonorrhea nearly quintupled, and chlamydia tripled.
Increased sexual activity among older adults, fueled by longer life expectancies and medical advancements like Viagra, clashes with a lack of comprehensive sex education, heightening STI transmission risks, NBC News added. Matthew Lee Smith, a public health professor at Texas A&M, claims that the older generations lack formal sex education. This exposes them to greater risks of STI transmission, symptoms, and prevention ignorance. (RELATED: ‘Slutty Summer’: New York City Health Department Says Hooking Up Is ‘Healthy’ Amid STI Spike)
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 07: Prime Minister Boris Johnson plays Connect 4 with resident Janet (left) and carer Lakshmi during a visit to Westport Care Home in Stepney Green, ahead of unveiling his long-awaited plan to fix the broken social care system on September 7, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Edwards / WPA Pool / Getty Images)
“Back in the ’30s, the ’40s, the ’50s, traditional school wasn’t really doing sexual education very formally,” Smith said, according to NBC News. “No one wants to think about grandma doing this,” Smith said. “You certainly aren’t going to ask grandma if she was wearing condoms — and that’s part of the problem, because every individual regardless of age has the right to intimacy.”