Complacency about sexual health and condom use is putting older people at greater risk of AIDS, researchers say. A survey of 2,650 people age 50 and over who visited a sexual health clinic in Sydney, Australia, found that almost half the women and more than a third of the men never used condoms. The 10-year study by the University of New England in South Wales also found that half the men and more than 60 percent of the women did not know their HIV status. Education about AIDS and other STDs had tended to focus on young people, said study co-author Victor Minichiello.

Recent US research found that HIV infection among older people was increasing, while youth infection rates were falling. The CDC found that more than 11 percent of new HIV cases were among people age 50 and over, and AIDS was the 15th leading cause of death among men and women over 65. Minichiello said there could be an "explosion" of HIV cases in Australia because the aging population meant people were sexually active later in life and divorcing and dating at older ages.

Also, many older people have entrenched sexual views that go back to the pre-AIDS era when the pill was the chosen form of contraception, Minichiello said. The people surveyed had gone to the center for various reasons, including checks for sexual diseases and to discuss sexual functioning. Most were single. About 90 percent had multiple partners in the past year. Also, 23 percent of the men had sex with other men and 20 percent had been with a sex worker. Phillip Medcalf, president of the National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS, said the findings were consistent with anecdotal evidence.

"If we want to make sure Australia maintains a good record on prevention, we need to educate older people," said Minichiello.

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