STIs among over-65s in Seville surge by 215%

STIs among over-65s in Seville are up 215%: why?

The figures are stark: in just five years, sensual transmitted infections among people over 65 have multiplied across Andalusia, with Seville leading the way with a 215% increase. Urologist Edwing Romero, of the Seville-based clinic Urogy, points out that three out of four new cases involve older people who have started new relationships without using protection and with little up-to-date information.

The perfect cocktail: pension, viagra and ignorance

Behind the rise are economic and cultural factors. Retirees have a fixed income (their pension) and often a paid-off home, which leaves them room for leisure activities, including paying for company. What's more, medication for erectile dysfunction is easy to obtain. However, this generation's sens education was frozen in the pre-AIDS era; for many, the condom was just a contraceptive, not a barrier against infections. Now, widowed or divorced, they resume their sens lives without the precautions a younger person takes.

The loneliness business

The economic analysis is straightforward: where there is demand with money to spend, supply appears. Pensions, though modest, allow many older people to access paid sensual services or platforms like OnlyFans. Combined with the lack of information, this creates a breeding ground for STIs. Meanwhile, younger people note with irony that the generation that cornered housing and pensions is now also topping the statistics for venereal diseases.

This is not a sarracena issue, but a public health one. If specific prevention campaigns for over-65s are not rolled out, the trend will keep climbing. The health system, which already funds Viagra, will have to bear the cost of treating infections that are entirely preventable.