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According to a new
study by Edward Laumann, the George Herbert Mead Distinguished Service Professor
of Sociology, and researchers at the University of Chicago finds that sexual
dysfunction is not an inevitable part of aging, but it is strongly related to
a number of factors, such as mental and physical health, demographics and lifetime
experiences, many of which are interrelated.
Sexual dysfunction is not
an inevitable part of aging, but it is strongly related to a number of factors,
such as mental and physical health, demographics and lifetime experiences, many
of which are interrelated, according to a new study by researchers at the University
of Chicago.
The study, funded by the
National Institutes of Health, found that a history of sexually transmitted
disease 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.
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.
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 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 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 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.
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