A recent study reveals that middle aged and elder men who take drugs like Viagra for erectile dysfunction are more prone to have sexually transmitted diseases. The report was published in Annals of Internal Medicine, in the July 6 issue.

The study was conducted by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Southern California.

The study reveals that problem is not related to the drugs, but it is created due to the high risk behaviors of the men who request for these drugs. Researchers are of the view that physicians should advice these patients regarding the safe sexual practices.

Earlier, studies conducted on men who have sex with men, established a connection of these drugs with increased risk behaviors.

However, this is the first such study which inspects the association between ED drugs and STD risk in a large representative sample comprising 1.4 million men. The researchers could not determine the number of men, who were bisexual against those who were homosexual.

Study author Dr. Anupam B. Jena, an internal medicine Resident at Massachusetts General, discloses that the primary care physicians generally do not talk to the older men regarding safe sexual practices. Dr. Anupam explained that the reason behind it is that STDs are comparatively lower in this group.