Exploring the sexual histories of older GUM clinic attenders

Little is known either of the factors motivating clinic attendance in later life, or the sexual health histories of older clinic attenders. A self-administered questionnaire study linked to patient note data aiming to explore these issues was undertaken within 3 genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics in the Trent region. Participants comprised 224 individuals aged 50 years and older attending the 3 clinics during the study period. The majority of study participants were attending the clinic with a suspected sexually transmitted infection (STI) (n = 145, 64.7%) and approximately half (n=119, 53.1%) were first-time GUM clinic attenders. Data available for participants recruited from the Sheffield clinic indicated that, although the majority of participants reported having had only one sexual partner during the last 12 months, a significant minority reported considerably higher numbers of partners, including those classed 'higher risk' for STI acquisition. These data indicate that older people engage in behaviours that place them at risk of STI acquisition and many attend GUM clinics for the first time in later life.