Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSOlder swingers more likely than prostitutes to have sexual infections
Older swingers are more than twice as likely to carry a sexually transmitted infection than a female prostitute, research has revealed.
The research, carried out in the Netherlands, found that swingers have some of the highest rates of STIs, along with young heterosexuals and gay men. The riskiest group for unsafe sex appear to be older swingers, according to the researchers.
The millions of secret heterosexual swingers who swap sexual partners at organised gatherings across the globe represent a significant risk to the rest of the population, said the experts.
Swingers over the age of 45 are the most likely to be infected and women had higher infection rates than men. In the UK, the highest rates of STIs are among young people aged 16 to 24.
A team led by Dr Nicole Dukers-Muijrers, from the South Limburg Public Health Service in Geleen, wrote in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections: “Potentially, they may act as an STI transmission bridge to the entire population.”
Overall, combined rates of chlamydia and gonorrhoea infection were just over 10% among straight people, 14% among gay men, 10.4% among swingers, and just under 5% among female prostitutes.
Although heterosexuals accounted for the majority of STIs in the youngest age groups, infections were much more likely to be found in older swingers.
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