Older Swingers Emerging as STI Risk Group

From Medscape Medical News
Emma Hitt, PhD

June 25, 2010 — Straight couples who regularly swap sexual partners, referred to as swingers, have rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) comparable with those of other high-risk groups, according to the findings of a new study conducted in the Netherlands.

Nicole H. T. M. Dukers-Muijrers, PhD, from the Department of Infectious Diseases, South Limburg Public Health Service, the Netherlands, and colleagues compared STI prevalence rates in swingers with those of other risk groups.

"Until now, swingers...are not considered as a specific risk group for STI in healthcare services and prevention," note Dr. Dukers-Muijrers and colleagues in their article, published online June 24 in Sexually Transmitted Infections. "Swingers differ from non-swinging heterosexual adults by their sexual network, typed by concurrent sexual partners and high rate of unprotected sex," the authors note.

Since 2007, all attendees at a single STI clinic in South Limburg, the Netherlands, have been asked whether they engage in the practice of swinging. STI clinic surveillance data were analyzed for indications of diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis and/or Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Out of 8921 consultations, 12% reported that they were swingers. The median age was 43 years. The highest STI prevalences were reported in young attendees (age, 16 - 35 years), men who have sex with men, and swingers.

Combined rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea were recorded in more than 10% of heterosexuals, 14% of homosexual men, less than 5% of female prostitutes, and 10.4% of swingers (median age, 43 years). Female swingers had higher infection rates than male swingers (P = .032).

More than half (55%) of all diagnoses in those older than 45 years were made in swingers compared with around a third (31%) in homosexual men. Among swingers older than 45 years, 10% had chlamydia and approximately 4% had gonorrhea.

According to the researchers, no systematic data on STI diagnoses in this heterosexual population exist, except for those presented in the current study. "To our knowledge, no single country mentions swingers as a special focus group in national STI prevention," they add. In the Netherlands, 15,000 couples (30,000 individuals) have a profile on one of the largest Websites for swingers. "The total number of swingers is probably larger," they write.

"Swingers, like other groups with risk behaviors, need to be identified and treated as a risk group in STI prevention and care," the researchers conclude.

The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Sex Transm Infect. Published online June 24, 2010.