Tomines, Zardilou C.

bsn 4E Group T

Potency drug users more likely to engage in risky sex

NICOLE OSTROW
July 8, 2010

NEW YORK: Men taking drugs for sexual potency showed almost triple the rate of sexually
transmitted diseases of those not taking the medications, a study by Harvard University
researchers has found.
The results, from an analysis of the health insurance claims of men aged 40 and older, may
have more to do with the nature of the men using the impotence drugs than with the
medicines leading them to have riskier sex, the research report said.
The study, which examined men taking Viagra and Cialis, was published this week in the
Annals of Internal Medicine.

The higher rate of infections was seen in the year before and after the men started taking the
prescription medicines.
That suggests that users of drugs to treat erectile dysfunction, which also include Levitra, may
be more likely to engage in unsafe sex than non-users, the study's lead author, Anupam Jena,
said.
''Younger people have more sex partners than older folks,'' said Dr Jena, a medical resident at
Harvard Medical School.
''But per sexual encounter, the actual safeness of the sex is probably lower among older folks
in the sense that they don't use condoms,'' he said.
In the US, 19 million new sexually spread infections occur each year, almost half of them
among people aged 15 to 24, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Nevertheless, people aged 40 to 49 accounted for the largest proportion of newly diagnosed
HIV cases - 27 per cent - in 2007.
Those aged 50 to 59 accounted for 13 per cent of HIV cases, while those over the age of 60
accounted for 4 per cent.
''Old folks can contract STDs and we need to be vigilant about it,'' Dr Jena said.
The researchers looked at health insurance claims from 44 large employers from 1997, one
year before Viagra was introduced, until 2006. They examined the claims of men over 40 to
see if they were prescribed erectile dysfunction drugs, finding 33,968 who used the impotence
pills and 1.38 million who did not.
In the year before taking the pills, users had an overall sexual disease rate of 214 per
100,000 people. That gave them a 2.8 times greater risk of developing a sexual infection than
men who did not take the drugs.
That decreased slightly the year after, when pill-takers had a 2.65 times higher risk than non-
takers, the study showed.
An editorial with the article urged doctors to advise older patients to remember safe-sex
precautions if they ask for erectile dysfunction drugs.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/potency-drug-users-more-likely-to-engage-in-risky-
sex-20100707-100p6.html

Summary:

Men taking drugs for sexual potency showed almost triple the rate of sexually transmitted
diseases of those not taking the medications, a study by Harvard University researchers has
found.
The results, from an analysis of the health insurance claims of men aged 40 and older, may
have more to do with the nature of the men using the impotence drugs than with the
medicines leading them to have riskier sex, the research report said.
The study, which examined men taking Viagra and Cialis, was published this week in the
Annals of Internal Medicine.

''Younger people have more sex partners than older folks,'' said Dr Jena, a medical resident at
Harvard Medical School.
''But per sexual encounter, the actual safeness of the sex is probably lower among older folks
in the sense that they don't use condoms,'' he said.

In the US, 19 million new sexually spread infections occur each year, almost half of them
among people aged 15 to 24, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Nevertheless, people aged 40 to 49 accounted for the largest proportion of newly diagnosed
HIV cases - 27 per cent - in 2007.
Those aged 50 to 59 accounted for 13 per cent of HIV cases, while those over the age of 60
accounted for 4 per cent.
Reaction:

In this article, the report of increasing numbers of HIV and other STD cases in older men,
especially those using potency drugs to treat erectile disorders has been confirmed. It was
done through meticulous study of the age percentage of each cases of sexually transmitted
diseases in the US, as well as the case percentage of sexually transmitted diseases in older
men using this so-called potency drugs such as viagra.
Researchers noted that this incidence is probably due to less chances of older men in using
condoms, as well as their being more prone to engaging sex with multiple sex partners with
their increased sex performance though this potency drugs.
Though it might not be true in other countries, to think that sexually transmitted diseases are
more common in teenagers, young adults on their peak of sexual activity, homosexuals,
members of low socio-economic classes and the likes engaging in high risk sex or with
multiple sex partners, this report simply suggest that this increasing incidence of STD in older
men needs an immediate action.
Healthcare practitioners do have to take part of their responsibilities of educating this older
men who are taking potency drugs to practice safe sex. This should include avoiding sex with
unknown partners who are at risk for having STD, and as much as possible, use condoms
and other protective contraceptives when engaging in any sexual activity. This information
needs to be rendered to other people as well, since health education still proves promising as
an effective intervention in decreasing the incidences of STD worldwide.