Sexual Dysfunction Among Older Americans Tied to
Experiences, Health, Demographics
Sexual problems may not be inevitable part of aging
but they seem to increase with the years
Aug. 19, 2008 – Although a new report on sexual
research among older finds that sexual dysfunction is not an inevitable
part of aging, it does find that many of the things that impact sexual
performance among the elderly are closely associated with getting older,
including mental and physical health. The study also finds demographics
and lifetime experiences are important factors.
The study by researchers at the University of
Chicago, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, found
that a history of sexually transmitted disease (STD) also has an impact
on sexual health later in life.
People who had an STD are also more likely to have
had sexual experiences over their lifetimes that included more risks and
multiple sex partners.
"Having had an STD roughly quadruples a woman's
odds of reporting sexual pain and triples her lubrication problems,"
said Edward Laumann, the George Herbert Mead Distinguished Service
Professor of Sociology at the University, and lead author of the paper,
"Sexual Dysfunction Among Older Adults: Prevalence and Risk Factors from
a Nationally Representative U.S. Probability Sample of Men and Women 57
to 85 Years of Age," published in the current issue of the Journal of
Sexual Medicine.
Other highlights include:
● Men are more than five times as likely to
report sex as non-pleasurable if they have previously had an STD.
Laumann was joined in writing the paper by
University researcher Aniruddha Das, and Linda Waite, the Lucy Flower
Professor in Sociology at the University.
For Elderly,
Sex Doesn't Have to Get Old
By Andrew Stern
CHICAGO (Reuters)
- Getting old does not mean saying so
long to sex, U.S. researchers said on
Wednesday.
More than
three-quarters of American men aged 75
to 85 and half of women that age are
still interested in sex, a survey of the
elderly by University of Chicago
researchers found.
● The study showed that women may be more likely
than men to experience sexual dysfunction because of health issues.
● The most common problem for men is erectile
dysfunction, a problem that increases with age.
● The new study found that among older women, a
common factor correlated with sexual dysfunction was urinary tract
syndrome, which was associated with decreased interest in sex, as were
mental health issues such as anxiety.
● Among men, mental health issues and
relationship problems contributed to a lack of interest in sex and the
inability to achieve orgasm, while being treated for urinary tract
syndrome was associated with trouble maintaining and achieving an
erection.
● Daily alcohol consumption seems to improve a
woman's sexual health, increasing her interest and pleasure in sex.
Among men, there was no reported impact of alcohol consumption.
Demographic characteristics and cultural factors
also are related to sexual performance, the study found.
● Hispanic women were twice as likely to report
pain during intercourse.
● Among men, blacks were twice as likely to
report a lack of interest in sex and more likely to report climaxing too
early.
"The results point to a need for physicians who are
treating older adults experiencing sexual problems to take into account
their physical health and also consider their mental health and their
satisfaction with their intimate relationship in making any assessment,"
Laumann said.
The study is based on interviews with a national
sample of 1,550 women and 1,455 men, ages 57 to 85, who were part of the
2005-2006 National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, a nationally
representative survey of community-dwelling older U.S. adults. The
survey collected data on social life, sexuality, health, and a broad
range of biological measures.
The study is a companion to a 1999 study Laumann
led that looked at sexual dysfunction among men and women, ages 18 to
59. That study found that physical health was a bigger predictor of
sexual problems for men than it was for women. For that younger age
group, having an STD did not increase the odds of experiencing sexual
dysfunction.
The National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project
is supported by several components of the National Institutes of Health,
including the National Institute on Aging, the Office of Research on
Women's Health, the Office of AIDS Research and the Office of Behavioral
and Social Sciences Research. The National Opinion Research Center,
whose staff was responsible for the data collection, also supports the
project.
