Hayes Richard, Dennerstein Lorraine
Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
J Sex Med. 2005 May;2(3):317-30. doi: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2005.20356.x.
Scientific interest in the impact of aging on women's sexual function and dysfunction has increased in the half century since Kinsey described age-related changes in women's sexual activities. However, a range of methodological issues limit the conclusions that can be drawn from many published studies in this area.
To review community-based studies investigating changes in women's sexual function and sexual dysfunction with age, taking into account confounders to aging and methodological limitations.
Electronic databases were searched for published studies investigating changes in sexual function and dysfunction with age. A critical review was carried out.
Age-related changes in sexual function and dysfunction.
There are inconsistencies in the way sexual function and sexual dysfunction are measured. Validated scales are infrequently used. Low response rates, limited age ranges, and restrictive inclusion criteria limit the generalizability of many studies. Confounders are often either not measured or not analyzed. Longitudinal studies are rare, making it difficult to separate the effects of birth cohort and aging. The evidence indicates that a woman's sexual function declines with age. This decline begins in a woman's late 20s to late 30s. Specifically, desire, frequency of orgasm, and frequency of sexual intercourse decrease with age. However, it is not clear whether arousal decreases or remains relatively constant. In longitudinal studies, decline in women's sexual function has also been detected, but patterns of stability and improved sexual function have also been observed for short periods of time. The prevalence of most sexual difficulties or dysfunctions changes little with age, with the exception of sexual pain, which may decrease.
Age-related changes in sexually related personal distress may help explain why the prevalence of sexual dysfunctions remains constant with age while sexual function declines. More research is needed to demonstrate this.
自金赛描述了女性性活动中与年龄相关的变化以来，在过去半个世纪里，科学界对衰老对女性性功能和性功能障碍的影响的兴趣有所增加。然而，一系列方法学问题限制了从该领域许多已发表研究中得出的结论。
回顾基于社区的研究，这些研究调查了女性性功能和性功能障碍随年龄的变化，并考虑到衰老的混杂因素和方法学局限性。
在电子数据库中搜索已发表的研究，这些研究调查了性功能和性功能障碍随年龄的变化。进行了批判性综述。
性功能和性功能障碍与年龄相关的变化。
性功能和性功能障碍的测量方式存在不一致之处。很少使用经过验证的量表。低回复率、有限的年龄范围和严格的纳入标准限制了许多研究的普遍性。混杂因素往往要么未被测量，要么未被分析。纵向研究很少见，这使得难以区分出生队列和衰老的影响。证据表明，女性的性功能随年龄下降。这种下降始于女性20多岁后期至30多岁后期。具体而言，性欲、性高潮频率和性交频率随年龄下降。然而，尚不清楚性唤起是下降还是相对保持不变。在纵向研究中，也检测到了女性性功能的下降，但在短时间内也观察到了稳定和性功能改善的模式。大多数性困难或性功能障碍的患病率随年龄变化不大，但性疼痛可能会减少除外。
与性相关的个人困扰中与年龄相关的变化可能有助于解释为什么性功能障碍的患病率随年龄保持不变而性功能却下降。需要更多研究来证明这一点。
