‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Responsible for Rise in STDs in Older People: Health Officials

Health experts believe that erotic content in the novel "Fifty Shades of Grey" is largely responsible for increase in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in older couples.

The international bestseller by E L James portrays sexual freedom in the form of bondage, dominance, sadism and masochism (BDSM) that gained much acclaim and mixed critical reviews. Soon after the novel's release in 2011, British health officials noted an upsurge in cases of STDs in people aged 45 and above. It seems this age group was influenced to try out the wild sexual activities depicted in the story, reports the Independent.

Public Health England recorded 1,281 new cases of STI's in people aged 65 and above in 2011. The figure rose by 7 percent in 2012 with 1,374 people affected and this was discounting chlamydia. The agency observed 19896  cases in the age group of 45- 64 in 2011, which  increased to 20,455 in 2012.

Charlotte Jones, the chairperson of the British Medical Association's GP Committee, believes the novel empowered the older audience to explore sexual freedom without thinking about their safety.

"When it comes to forgetting about safe sex we always think of the vulnerability of young people but there's the Fifty Shades of Grey effect where older people are being more explorative, but not necessarily remembering to use a condom," said Jones, reports the Wales Online.

"Anyone, of any age, going into new relationships should be thinking about safe sex and particularly the role of condoms. People need to take care."

Apart from the public records, many doctors from Wales frequently had patients with STI's like thrush, chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomonas. Scotland alone had 210 cases of genital herpes in 2013 for those aged over 50. Genital herpes affected 150 and 47 people in 2010 and 2002, respectively.  A similar trend was observed for chlamydia infections with 140 incidents in recent times and 127 cases in 2010. A total of 39 cases of syphilis were reported in people of similar age range during 2013.  

 Alarmed by these reports, Jones urged older couples to seek immediate medical attention upon noticing symptoms of any sexual condition.

"Generally speaking there's a lot more people in older age groups having sex and certainly it is a concern of ours that the 1980s message around condom use - with the HIV campaign - is getting forgotten about or people are getting complacent," said Harry Walker, parliamentary manager of charity organization the Family Planning Association, reports the Independent.

Sexually transmitted diseases traditionally occurred during times of upheavals like wars when people did not have access to condoms and protection devices. Time and again people are reminded to use condoms while having sexual contact with multiple partners. Most of these infections can progress into life threatening conditions.