Rates of sexually-transmitted diseases among the elderly are on the rise, according to US doctors.
The blame, they say, lies with erectile dysfunction drugs and an unwillingness to practise safe sex.
A report in the latest issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine shows older men who use drugs like Viagra are twice as likely to have an STD as those who don't, but rates for both are increasing – up almost 50 percent since 1996.
The study shows 50-year-olds are six times less likely to use a condom than men in their 20s.
"We are typically unaccustomed to practice safe sex over the age of 50, because the risk of pregnancy is eliminated," says Dr Anupam Jena.
STD rates in young people are still far higher than old.
Dr Jena recommends doctors give elderly men advice on safe sex when prescribing erectile dysfunction drugs, as it might have been a while since they were last sexually active.
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