Seniors are responsible for an ‘alarming’ STI epidemic in the US

Someone give grandpa a box of condoms, already.

Sex-crazed senior citizens are fueling a spike in STIs across the country, surprising new statistics have revealed — with one surprising state leading the wild charge.

In 2022 — the year with the most recent data — more than 2.5 million cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia were reported in the United States, the CDC said. It is expected that the numbers of 2023 “will be worse”, experts warn.

For now, health officials have registered “alarming concerns” about the ongoing epidemic, “signaling an urgent need” to address the situation.

Rates of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia among sexually active people over age 55 more than doubled in the US over the 10-year period from 2012 to 2022, the statistics showed.

In the last decade, the number of syphilis cases in this age group has increased sevenfold, gonorrhea cases have increased nearly fivefold, and chlamydia cases have tripled.

Sex-crazed seniors in South Dakota are leading the at-risk group — with the highest rate of syphilis cases at 6.1 per 100,000 people, the Daily Mail reported.

Washington, DC, led the way in gonorrhea diagnoses, with approximately 29 cases per 100,000 people.

Alaska recorded the highest rate of chlamydia among seniors at nearly 18 cases per 100,000.

STIs pose health risks to people of all ages. However, the elderly have a harder time clearing infections and may even be more susceptible to contracting them.

Experts have said that several factors are contributing to increased rates of STIs in the elderly.

People are living longer and leading active lifestyles, with a 2018 AARP survey showing that 40% of those aged 65 to 80 are sexually active and nearly two-thirds are interested in sex.

But only 8% of sexually active seniors reported using condoms all the time, another AARP study found.

Many older people are said to lack knowledge about STI transmission and prevention. They often don’t think to use condoms since pregnancy is not a concern.

“In the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s, the traditional school wasn’t really doing sex education very formally,” Matthew Lee Smith, an associate professor at the Texas A&M School of Public Health, told NBC News.

Additionally, health care providers are often reluctant to discuss sexual activity with older patients, and older adults may feel uncomfortable talking about their sex lives with others.

“Nobody wants to think about grandma doing that,” Smith said. “Of course you wouldn’t ask grandma if she wore a condom – and that’s part of the problem, because every individual, regardless of age, has the right to privacy.”

Additionally, some older men face challenges with condom use due to dexterity issues or erectile dysfunction. Meanwhile, hormone replacement therapy and erectile dysfunction medications can increase sexual desire and activity.

Many older people also had only one sexual partner until they were divorced or widowed, but now have multiple partners – especially as women live longer than men and have fewer romantic options.

Late last year, Health and Human Services created the federal National Syphilis and Congenital Syphilis Task Force (NSCSS) in an effort to help slow the spread of the disease, but the impact has yet to be recognized.

However, NCSD cautioned that the 2022 data does not reflect the impact of the Bicillin LA (a congenital syphilis drug) shortage that began last spring, or the IST workforce cuts last summer due to the debt ceiling deal.

“The reality is that the 2023 data will be worse,” NCSD said.

And America’s seniors aren’t the only ones health experts worry about.

The World Health Organization has issued a warning about an “alarming decline” in condom use among teenagers that is expected to lead to a long list of consequences, including higher rates of STIs and increased health care costs.