Those 50 and older at higher risk of HIV

GENEVA, Switzerland, March 3 (UPI) -- There is a surprisingly high prevalence of HIV among adults age 50 and older, a World Health Organization report released in Switzerland reveals.

The report, published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, said older individuals more often than not are left out of demographic health surveys. In the last five years, only 13 of 30 surveys included older males and none included older females. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the United States of America does not collect data from people older than 49.

However, in the United States case reporting from 2003-2006 shows the proportion of older HIV-positive individuals has climbed from 20 percent to 25 percent using serology -- blood test. In WHO's European region, 8 percent of reported cases in 2005 are older individuals. Similar data from the developing world are unavailable.

Many older individuals everywhere are sexually active, although interest in sex and frequency of vaginal intercourse decline with age, the report said. Many studies show that older individuals are less likely than their younger counterparts to practice safer sex. While erectile dysfunction is common and erectile-dysfunction drugs are widely distributed in developing countries, no study has been done of their possible impact on the HIV epidemic, although their use in industrialized countries has been associated with risky sexual practices, the report said.