'Risk-taking' blamed as STIs double

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The failure to practise safe sex has led to the number of infections to rocket 127%.

Genital warts was the most commonly diagnosed infection followed by herpes, while men over 45 accounted for 67% of all cases.

The study was based on data from 4,445 diagnoses made in people aged 45 and over at 19 genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics in the West Midlands between 1996 and 2003 .

But the authors said results from others studies suggest a widespread problem, with "sexual risk-taking" among older age groups.

The study, published online in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections, found that men and people aged 55 to 59 were significantly more likely to be affected by an STI than others across the group.

The most commonly diagnosed infection among the over 45s was genital warts, accounting for almost half (45%) of the diagnoses. Herpes was the next most common, accounting for 19% of cases.

Women aged 45 to 54 had the highest rates of STIs for their sex, while men aged 55 to over 60 had the highest rates for theirs. The numbers of infections identified in younger age groups rose 97% during the period of the study but those identified in the over 45s rose 127%.

The authors wrote: "There has been a significant increase in the overall rate of STIs in older adults over the last few years, but little published research to inform public health policy, which remains youth focused.

"The results of this study, together with evidence from a number of other studies, would indicate that sexual risk-taking behaviour is not confined to young people but also occurs among older people."