safety first

Sexually transmitted infections are on the rise among older adults. Here’s what you need to know.

Rememberhaving “the talk” with your kids about sexually transmitted infections (STIS)? It’s time to revisit that conversation—with yourself.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says the national rate of STI infection has been rising steadily since the late ’90s, including among older adults. According to the Sexual Health at Midlife Study, a joint project by Trojan and the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada (SIECCAN), the rates of chlamydia, for instance, among Canadians aged 40 to 59 increased by 153 percent between 2003 and 2012.

Dr. Betito has noticed an increasing need to educate even elderly adults. “Seniors’ residences are like college dorms. There’s often one man for several women, and they don’t use condoms because there’s no risk of pregnancy,” she says. Dr. Palmay has also seen more STIS in her perimenopausal, menopausal and postmenopausal patients. “My senior patients go to Myrtle Beach, have fun in the sun and come back with syphilis, and they’re nonchalant about it,” she says.

Postmenopausal women are actually more vulnerable to Stis—the lining of the vagina becomes drier with age, which makes it “more likely to tear and become irritated during sex,” says Dr. Palmay. “These tears could lead to more susceptibility to STIS.”

Blame lack of condom use for the increased health risk—of the 77 percent of respondents in the TROJAN/SIECCAN study who had intercourse in their last sexual encounter, only about 28 percent of women said their partner used a condom (see What’s Behind the Rise, below, for more info).

“Youth today are taught ‘no glove, no love,’ but older women didn’t grow up with that concept,” says Dr. Betito, adding that people who are widowed or recently divorced “don’t know how to negotiate condom use with a new partner.” She advises women to take charge by carrying condoms and telling their partners they expect safe sex.