More and more people over the age of 50 are being diagnosed with
sexually transmitted infections — a development that has a
medical journal urging doctors to be more vigilant when treating
older patients. The Student BMJ, an international journal
published for medical students, says doctors need to ensure that
when they are diagnosing older individuals, they aren't ruling
out sexually transmitted infections based on age alone.
"Sexually transmitted infections are not high on your list of
differential diagnoses — but increasing evidence indicates that
they should be," as cases of common infections have more than
doubled in people aged 50 to 90 years old, the editorial says.
According to one study, 80 per cent of the people in that age
group are sexually active. One of the authors of the editorial,
Rachel von Simson, a medical student at King's College London,
said in an email that despite the dramatic rise in infections,
there isn't enough awareness and more education is necessary.
Von Simson says that it shou