Sexual Disease Risk Higher for Swingers than Prostitutes: Dutch Study

(CBS) The risk of catching a sexually transmitted disease (STD) may be high among prostitutes - but a new study from the British Medical Journal says the risk is even higher among couples who like to trade partners and engage in group sex.

Dutch researchers analyzed almost 9,000 patients at three sexual health clinics and found that 10.4 percent of older couples who considered themselves "swingers" were infected with chlymadia or gonorrhea, Reuters reported.

In comparison, just under 5 percent of female prostitutes were infected with chlamydia or gonorrhea.

Female swingers had higher rates than their male counterparts, and swingers over 45 were more likely to have an STD than those under 45.

Older swingers are "very hard to reach," one of the study's authors, Anne-Marie Niekamp, told Reuters. "Because they are so hidden and in some ways also stigmatized, it is hard for them to come forward for STI testing and treatment." 

The findings are not necessarily transferable to America, where prostitution is not regulated and most prostitutes do not receive health care.

More at British Medical Journal