Thirtysomethings have more risky sex than teens

Amongst people in their 30s and 40s, and in partnerships where there is an age difference of five or more years, condom use is particularly low.

Nearly 70 percent of those aged between 16 and 19 used a condom with a new partner, compared to 38 percent of men and 29 percent of women aged between 35 and 44, a new study has shown.

This worrying news comes as the number of people diagnosed with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) was shown to have risen by a quarter in just five years, and has sparked calls for an urgent drive to promote condoms to all age groups, and not just young people.

The researchers also found that where there was an age difference between partners of five years or more (regardless of whether the man or woman was older), 44.1% of respondents reported using condoms at first sex, compared to 60.8% in partnerships that were closer in age.

The figures, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, showed that although the overall number of heterosexual people using condoms for first time sex stood at 55 percent, that figures declined with age. Read more >>