SENIORS HAVING SEX

A full swap couple in Tennessee

Americans pushing 60, 70, 80 or even 90 don't forgo sex just because they're aging, according a new study that shows many older adults are having sex well into their 70s and 80s.

The University of Chicago study being published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine is being called the first comprehensive look at the sex lives of older adults in the USA. It portrays an image that researchers say runs counter to the stereotypes of older people as either asexual or "dirty old men."

"Sexuality discussion in later life has long been a taboo subject," says Stacy Tessler Lindau, a gynecologist and the study's lead author. "This study for first time provides information that allows people to see where their experiences align against others of similar health and age status. The data tell the world that older people do not give up sexuality by virtue of their age."

Based on data collected from 3,005 adults ages 57 to 85 during two-hour face-to-face interviews between July 2005 and March 2006, the findings show that many are sexually active, as long as their health holds out.

In the preceding 12 months, 73% of those ages 57 to 64, 53% of those ages 65 to 74 and 26% of those ages 75 to 85 said they were sexually active. Among those reporting good or excellent health, 81% of men and 51% of women said they had been sexually active in the past year compared to just 47% of men and 26% of women reporting fair or poor health.

"Little is known about sexual activity of older adults and how it's associated with health," says Georgeanne Patmios of the National Institute on Aging, which as part of the National Institutes of Health supported the research. "What we knew before this study came from research using highly self-selected populations or smaller subgroups, and it was often designed by advocacy groups. This is the first nationally-representative comprehensive data on sexual activity, behaviors and problems among this older population group."

The study found that men overall were more likely to have partners in later life and more likely to be sexually active. Older women were less likely to be sexually active because they often outlive their partners and men tend to marry younger women.

The most common reason for sexual inactivity among both men and women was the male partner's physical health problem, the study found.

About half of the sexually active adults reported at least one "bothersome" sexual problem; 37% of men cited erectile dysfunction and 43% of women cited low desire.

The study says "sexual problems are frequent among older adults." But human sexuality researcher John DeLamater, who did not participate in the study, says the University of Chicago researchers "have a tendency to focus on dysfunction." He says most sexuality studies conducted in the USA are studying sex as it relates to problems, such as teen sex, HIV or sexually transmitted diseases.

DeLamater, a University of Wisconsin sociology professor who has studied human sexuality for 35 years, cites a "debate" as to whether low sexual desire should be considered a sexual problem.

"Some older men and women believe they shouldn't be having sex because they're older," he says. "Women are more likely to consider it inappropriate."

He also questions the notion in the research that a drop in sexual activity is health-related. The study cites diabetes' association with erectile dysfunction and a lower prevalence of sexual activity.

DeLamater says the most important factor determining a woman's sexual activity is an available partner.

"It has nothing to do with their health," he says.

He says his studies suggest that for both men and women low sexual desire was the major reason for declines in sexual activity.

DeLamater does agree with the Chicago researchers that there is a lack of information offered by physicians to older adults about their sexuality and aging.

"The silence among physicians is certainly a problem because physicians are in a position to help people identify something they can do about it if they want to," he says.

In addition to the lengthy interviews, participants in the University of Chicago study completed questionnaires dealing with sexual activities and social relationships and provided physiological specimens, including blood spots and saliva and vaginal swabs to be used in follow-up health studies.

Among other findings:

• 54% of the oldest sexually active respondents reported having sex at least two to three times per month; 23% reported having sex once a week or more.

• About half of men and women under age 75 engaged in oral sex in the previous 12 months.

• 14% of men reported taking medication to improve sexual function; 1% of women reported taking such drugs.

• 38% of men and 22% of women reported having discussed sex with a physician since the age of 50.

These findings aren't a surprise to Robert Butler, a physician who headed the National Institute on Aging from 1975 to 1982. He and his late wife Myrna Lewis co-wrote the 1976 book Sex After Sixty and revised it several times, most recently in 2002.

"This study reaffirms the realization that older people do still enjoy lovemaking and it's significant in their lives," he says.

To read entire article, click here