Alarming increase of STDs among senior Americans

The eight common STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) or STIs (sexually transmitted infections), otherwise called venereal diseases, are chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis B virus (HBV), herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human papillomavirus (HPV), syphilis, and trichomoniasis. Chlamydia, trichomoniasis, genital herpes, and HPV. Together, they  accounted for 98% of all STIs and 93% of all new STIs in 2018.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that on any given day in 2018, 20% of the U.S. population – approximately one in five or 68 million people – had an STD. The cost to the American healthcare system was nearly $16 billion in healthcare costs, but the total cost far exceeded the medical cost because there are also other associated costs in lost productivity, other non-medical costs, and STD prevention.

According to the CDC’s annual Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report, 2018 saw increases in STDs, including:

• An increase in syphilis by 14% (35,000 cases), the highest number reported since 1991, including increases in the number of primary and secondary syphilis cases – the most infectious stages of syphilis. In total, there were more than 115,000 syphilis cases documented,  the highest number reported since 1991.
• Gonorrhea increased 5% to more than 580,000 cases – also the highest number reported since 1991.
• Chlamydia increased 3% to more than 1.7 million cases – the most ever reported to CDC.

Dr. Oz and Michael Roizen, M.D., reported in December 2018 that a National Poll on Healthy Aging of more than 1,000 people ages 65 to 80 found that nearly three-quarters said they had a romantic partner, and 54% of them were sexually active.

The CDC reports that while young Americans, aged 15-24, accounted for half of new cases of STDs, cases of several common STDs (chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis) reached historic highs among older Americans, aged 55 and older:

• Washington D.C., New York, and Maryland saw the highest instance of STDs among populations 55 and older with an average STD rate per 100,000 at 881.8, 236.2, and 172.7 respectively.
• While Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota had the lowest instance of STDs among people aged 55 and older at 20, 17.8, and 14.9 per 100,000 respectively, they actually saw the highest percentage increases in STD contraction between 2008 and 2017 with Montana having a 275.1% increase (the highest among any state), Wyoming have a 239.7% increase (the second highest), and North Dakota having a 224.6% increase (5th highest).

Why the rising incidence of STDs among seniors:

• Older people who have gone through menopause and andropause decrease using preventative measures such as condoms because pregnancy is no longer an issue.
• For whatever reason, older people tend to under estimate their risk of contracting STDs.

This is a serious problem not only because of STDs’ health and financial costs, seniors with STDs are also at increased risk of more deadly illnesses, such as heart disease, cancer, and HIV.

Indeed, the CDC report says that although the prevalence of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS) had remained roughly steady in the U.S. over the past several years, as many as 17% of the nearly 39,000 people newly diagnosed with HIV were 50 or older.

Since older people, for whatever reason, are less likely to test for HIV, this increases their risk of having a late-stage HIV infection, which means they could have already experienced major damage to their immune systems.

Instead of age conferring wisdom, older Americans are getting more stupid.

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