AIDS threatens older adults

As the generation that launched the sexual revolution nears age 60, and drugs such as Viagra keep people sexually active longer, experts worry that the number of older people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, will rise. They already represent a surprising 16 percent of new cases.

That's particularly troubling because older, untreated adults with AIDS are more than twice as likely as younger ones to die of the disease. Older women might be especially vulnerable, since vaginal changes that accompany menopause make a tear during intercourse, and subsequent infection, more likely.

Moreover, older people might be less equipped than younger ones to protect themselves from the disease. They know far less about AIDS, rarely get appropriate counseling from their doctors, and are much less likely to use condoms.

Older people need to take the same precautions as younger ones:

Get tested. People over age 50 are much less likely than younger people to be tested for HIV. Last September the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention addressed that problem by recommending routine testing for all teens and adults up to age 64. Our medical consultants go further: They say that everyone who is sexually active, even after 64, should get the test once and have it repeated each time an additional risk factor, such as a new partner, is introduce

Make sure your partner isn't infected. Older adults are also less likely to be up front about having the virus. If you're at all uncertain about your partner's sexual history, ask whether he or she has been tested and, if not, suggest that you get tested together.

Use a condom. At-risk older adults are one-sixth as likely to use condoms as people in their 20s. Regardless of your age, use a condom during oral, anal, or vaginal sex unless you're in a long-term monogamous relationship and you and your partner have tested negative.