Could These 10 GILFs be Increasing the Prevalence of STDs?

1. Goldie Hawn

Sixty-two year-old Goldie Hawn was born on November 21, 1945 in Washington D.C. Goldie has always looked sexy in her movies, even at 55 she was by-far-and-away the best looking star of the 2002 movie The Banger Sisters. She officially became a grandmother on January 7, 2004 when her daughter, Kate Hudson gave birth to a son.

2. Joan Collins

It's hard to believe that English, Golden Globe Award winning actress and best selling author Joan Collins is 74 years old. Born on May 23, 1933 in London, Collins has had and continues to have a very successful career. She recently won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the San Diego International Film Festival.

3. Amparo Grisales

Telenovelas (the Spanish equivalent to soap operas) star Amparo Grisales was born on September 19, 1956 in Manizales Columbia. Even at the age of 51 she is considered one of the sexiest women on international television. Catch her in her newest project, the telenovela Madre Luna ("Mother Moon") on Telemundo.

4. Terry Moore

Terry Moore appeared on the cover of playboy in 1984 at the age of 55. She was born January 7, 1929 in Glendale, CA, making her 78 today. She was nominated for an Oscar for her Supporting Actress Role in 1957's Peyton Place. Although Moore was in a long-term relationship with billionaire Howard Hughes they were never married.

5. Donna McClure

Fifty-two year-old grandmother Donna McClure was made famous by staring in a Boflex home gym commercial at the age of 50. Donna claims that she still uses the Boflex daily.

6. Lili Ivanova

This Bulgarian pop star was born in Kubrat, Bulgaria on April 24, 1939 making her 68 years old. She had released 31 albums and played in over 10,000 live concerts.

7. Wendie Malick

Wendie Malick, 57, is best known for her role as Nina Van Horn in the NBC sitcom Just Shoot me! She was born on December 13, 1950 in Buffalo, NY but now lives with her family and three dogs in the Santa Monica Mountains.

8. Susan Lucci

Not only is Susan Lucci one of the most attractive actresses on day-time television she is also the highest paid at over $1 million a year? not an easy feat for a 61 year old. Lucci was born in Scarsdale, NY on December 23, 1946. She is best known for playing Erica Kane on ABCs soap opera All My Children, for which she has won a Grammy.

9. Ellen Barkin

Although it is hard to believe that Emmy Award winning actress Ellen Barkin is 53 she was most definitely born in the Bronx on April 16, 1954. She is best known for her roles in Sea of Love (1989) and The Big Easy (1987) but has made many appearances since, most recently in Oceans 13. Notably, she recently claimed to have slept with co-star George Clooney.

10. Dana Delany

Fifty-one year-old Delany was born on Match 13, 1956 in New York City. She is most well known for her stint on China Beach, an ABC sitcom in the late 80's and her role as Katherine Mayfair on Desperate Housewives.

Could better looking elderly be another cause of STD epidemic in this age group?

Since not all grandparent aged people look quite as good as the 10 GILFs listed above it may be a shock to some that 60% of all people over the age of 60 have sexual intercourse at least once a month. This percentage will only continue to grow with the use of drugs such as Viagra, Levitra and Cialis. Even more surprisingly, the elderly population is usually not considered to be at a high risk of contracting STDs when in fact they are actually at extremely high risk for several reasons. First of all, the aging process decreases the strength of the immune system, which in turn increases susceptibility to disease. Also, after menopause women's vaginal tissue is more likely to tear, increasing the risk of contracting STDs during intercourse. However, the biggest problem is that society (including the elderly themselves) does not view senior citizens as a high risk group for contracting STDs. This misconception leads to a lack of sexual health education and STD screening for the elderly. Even when the elderly exhibit symptoms of STDs they are many times assumed to be part of the "normal aging process" and left untreated leaving them to face unnecessary consequences.

The bacterial infections, Chlamydia and Gonorrhea are two of the most common STDs and usually are contracted together. If they remain untreated they can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease or even infect the joints, heart valves and brain. Syphilis is a bacterial STD that can easily be treated with antibiotics; however, if it goes unnoticed it will eventually severely and irreversibly damage the heart, nervous system, brain, eyes, bones and basically every other body system. Although most viral STDs have no cure they can usually be treated symptomatically to increase quality of life; however, most of them increase the risk for other diseases. For example, depending on strain, the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) can increase a woman's risk of developing cervical cancer, which kills 5,000 Americans each year. Although some Hepatitis B (HBV) clear up by themselves some become chronic and can lead to liver cirrhosis and cancer. Most people infected with HIV eventually develop AIDS and die of related complications and unfortunately, people over 50 have the fastest growing rate of HIV infections.