According to the CDC’s latest statistics on STDs in the United States, chlamydia, hepatitis C, and syphilis are among the diseases affecting Americans aged 55 and older at an alarming rate. The numbers, which are as recent as 2022, demonstrate how STD rates have risen dramatically since 2000.
Chlamydia, Hepatitis C, and syphilis are some of the STDs infecting older Americans at an alarming rate
In 2022, there were 5,160 reported cases of primary and secondary syphilis in persons aged 55 and older, up sharply from 3,092 in 2020. In 2012, there were just 712 cases.
Chlamydia cases among Americans aged 55 and older were reported to be 19,766 in 2022, up from 13,774 cases in 2020.
Hepatitis C cases among patients aged 55 and older have also increased dramatically since 2012. There were just 125 cases in 2012, while 1,041 cases were reported in 2022, a small decline from 1,092 in 2021.
Gonorrhea cases for this age group peaked at 18,804 in 2022, up from 3,874 in 2012.
Florida had the most HIV diagnoses among individuals 55 and older in 2021
According to data released on the CDC’s website, Florida had the most HIV diagnoses among individuals 55 and older in 2021 (585 cases). California followed with 453 cases, and Texas came in third with 358.
New York, Georgia, New Jersey, and Illinois were also ranked among the highest HIV cases in 2021 for the same age category. Alaska, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Vermont had a total of 12 cases among the 55+ population, while Wyoming had none.
In an interview with NBC News, Texas A&M professor Matthew Lee Smith stated that STD cases in the elderly may be influenced by how they were taught about sex education in school.
“Back in the ’30s, the ’40s, and the ’50s, the traditional school wasn’t really doing sexual education very formally,” he said.
