The majority of women in a new study report that sexual satisfaction increases with age and also that frequent arousal and orgasm continue into old age. Interestingly, the same women reported a decrease in sexual desire with age. The findings appear in the American Journal of Medicine. The study evaluated sexual activity and satisfaction as reported by 806 older women whose health has been tracked for research purposes for 40 years. It measured the prevalence of current sexual activity; the characteristics associated with sexual activity including health, and hormone use; frequency of arousal, lubrication, orgasm, and pain during sexual intercourse; and sexual desire and satisfaction. The average age of participants was 67 years and 63 percent were postmenopausal.
Among the findings:
- Half the respondents with partners had been sexually active in the last month.
- The majority (67 percent) of the sexually active women achieved orgasm most of the time or always.
- The youngest and oldest women in the study reported the highest frequency of orgasm satisfaction.
- Just under half of all the women stated that they never, or almost never, felt sexual desire.
"Despite a correlation between sexual desire and other sexual function domains, only 1 in 5 sexually active women reported high sexual desire. Approximately half of the women aged 80 years or more reported arousal, lubrication, and orgasm most of the time, but rarely reported sexual desire. These results suggest that women engage in sexual activity for multiple reasons, which may include affirmation or sustenance of a relationship," explained study leader Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, from the University of California, San Diego.
Although older age has been described as a significant predictor of low sexual satisfaction, the percentage of sexually satisfied women actually increased with age, with approximately half of the women over 80 years old reporting sexual satisfaction almost always or always.
"In this study, sexual activity was not always necessary for sexual satisfaction. Those who were not sexually active may have achieved sexual satisfaction through touching, caressing, or other intimacies developed over the course of a long relationship," suggested co-researcher Susan Trompeter. "Emotional and physical closeness to the partner may be more important than experiencing orgasm."
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Source: American Journal of Medicine
