Older men and women can age successfully, even if their sexual interest and enjoyment wanes as they get older, according to a recent study of European populations.
“Sustained sexual interest and sexual enjoyment are linked to successful aging in both genders,” the authors concluded.
Published online in September in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, the study investigated associations between successful aging and changes in sexual interest and enjoyment.
In general terms, the notion of successful aging includes good physical and psychological health, social participation, and satisfaction with life. However, sexual aspects are not typically part of the concept.
For this project, researchers used a model of successful aging with three dimensions: social connectedness, absence of depression, and life satisfaction. (Health was not included, as the authors noted that people can successfully age even if they are not healthy.)
“In a broad sense, these dimensions indicate quality of life, cognitive and emotional coping with aging, and social engagement,” they explained.
Men and women from four countries – Norway, Denmark, Belgium, and Portugal – took part in the study. The 2,461 participants ranged in age from 60 to 75 years. They completed a 200-item questionnaire related to sexuality and the successful aging dimensions.
Sexual interest and enjoyment were assessed with two questions, with responses given on a 5-point scale:
- Compared to 10 years ago, how would you rate your interest in sex?
- Compared to 10 years ago, how would you rate your overall enjoyment in sex?
Men and women in all countries reported that their levels of sexual interest and enjoyment were lower than they were 10 years earlier. The decrease was lower among men.
However, the researchers found a positive association between successful aging and changes in sexual interest in enjoyment. With the exception of Portuguese men, the participants who had the highest levels of successful aging also had the smallest decreases in sexual interest and enjoyment.
The authors noted that their successful aging model “demonstrated a good fit to the data and enabled direct comparisons across gender and national cultures.” They added that Portuguese had the lowest levels of successful aging and that levels for Norwegian, Danish, and Belgian participants were similar. This finding might be explained by socioeconomic conditions, the authors said.
In terms of negative changes in sexual interest and enjoyment, Norwegian women fared better than Portuguese women. This result “might reflect the existence of different social norms that regulate gender roles and sexuality in the European south and north,” the authors wrote.
Higher levels of successful aging were also found among partnered men and women, but partnership status was not related to changes in sexual interest or enjoyment.
Several limitations were acknowledged. The samples might have been biased toward sexually active men and women and those with “more liberal views on sexuality.” Also, sexual orientation was not controlled for and the participants’ specific sexual activities were unknown.
Resources
The Journal of Sexual Medicine
Štulhofer, Aleksandar, PhD, et al.
“Successful Aging and Changes in Sexual Interest and Enjoyment Among Older European Men and Women”
(Full-text. Published online: September 20, 2018)
https://www.jsm.jsexmed.org/article/S1743-6095(18)31152-4/fulltext