Sex Really Does Get Better With Age (Just Ask A 70 Year Old)

ScienceDaily (July 9, 2008) — An increasing number of 70 year olds are
having good sex and more often, and women in this age group are
particularly satisfied with their sex lives, according to a study
published on the British Medical Journal website.

Knowledge about sexual behaviour in older people (70 year olds) is
limited and mainly focuses on sexual problems, less is known about
"normal" sexual behaviour in this age group.

Nils Beckman and colleagues from the University of Gothenburg in
Sweden, studied attitudes to sex in later life among four
representative population samples of 70 year olds in Sweden, who they
interviewed in 1971-2, 1976-7, 1992-3, and 2000-1. In total, over 1
500 people aged 70 years were interviewed about different aspects of
their sex lives including sexual dysfunctions, marital satisfaction
and sexual activity.

The authors found that over the thirty year period the number of 70
year olds of both sexes reporting sexual intercourse increased:
married men from 52% to 68%, married women from 38% to 56%, unmarried
men from 30% to 54%, and unmarried women from 0.8% to 12%.

In addition, the number of women reporting high sexual satisfaction
increased, more women reported having an orgasm during sex and fewer
reported never having had an orgasm.

While the proportion of women reporting low satisfaction with their
sex lives decreased, the proportion of men reporting low satisfaction
increased. The authors suggest that this might be because it is now
more acceptable for men to admit "failure" in sexual matters.

They also note that the number of men reporting erectile dysfunction
deceased, whereas the proportion reporting ejaculation dysfunction
increased, but the proportion reporting premature ejaculation did not
change.

Interestingly, both men and women blame men when sexual intercourse
stops between them. This finding replicates the results of other
studies in the 1950s and 2005-06.

"Our study...shows that most elderly people consider sexual activity
and associated feelings a natural part of later life", they conclude.

These findings emphasise the important and positive part sex plays in
the lives of 70 year olds and is a welcome contribution to the limited
literature about sexual behaviour in older people, writes Professor
Peggy Kleinplatz from the University of Ottawa in Canada.

It will hopefully highlight the need for doctors to be trained to ask
all patients, regardless of age, about their sexual concerns, she
adds.

Adapted from materials provided by BMJ-British Medical Journal, via
EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.