Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK.
NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Westmead, Australia.
J Affect Disord. 2019 Feb 15;245:912-917. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2018.11.091. Epub 2018 Nov 13.
Age-related declines in sexuality and increase in mental health complications have been well documented. However, whether these two phenomena are related has not been explored. The present study therefore aimed to investigate associations between a decline in sexuality and markers of mental health and wellbeing.
Data were collected in 2012/13 from 2614 men and 3217 women participating in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, a population-representative panel study of older adults (≥ 50 years). Past-year declines in sexual desire, frequency of sexual activities, and sexual function were self-reported. Three markers of wellbeing (depressive symptoms, quality of life and life satisfaction) were assessed using validated scales. Associations between declines in sexuality and wellbeing were analysed using one-way independent analyses of variance, adjusted for a range of socio-demographic and health-related covariates.
Men and women who reported a past-year decline in sexual desire or frequency of sexual activities had a higher number of depressive symptoms (desire p = 0.001, frequency p < 0.001) and lower quality of life (all p < 0.001). Decline in sexual desire was also associated with lower life satisfaction in men (p = 0.012) and decline in frequency of sexual activities was associated with lower life satisfaction in women (p < 0.001). Declines in erectile function in men and ability to become sexually aroused in women were also significantly associated with more depressive symptoms (p < 0.001), lower quality of life (p < 0.001) and lower life satisfaction (p < 0.001 in men, p = 0.024 in women).
Older adults who experience a decline in sexuality report poorer wellbeing than those who do not.
性与心理健康并发症随年龄增长而衰退已有充分记录。然而，这两种现象是否相关尚未得到探讨。本研究旨在调查性功能下降与心理健康和幸福感标志物之间的关联。
数据来自 2012/13 年参加英国老龄化纵向研究的 2614 名男性和 3217 名女性，这是一项针对老年人（≥50 岁）的代表性队列研究。过去一年中，性欲、性活动频率和性功能下降均为自我报告。使用经过验证的量表评估了幸福感的三个标志物（抑郁症状、生活质量和生活满意度）。使用单向独立方差分析来分析性功能下降与幸福感之间的关系，调整了一系列社会人口学和健康相关的协变量。
报告过去一年性欲或性活动频率下降的男性和女性的抑郁症状较多（性欲 p=0.001，频率 p<0.001），生活质量较低（均 p<0.001）。男性性欲下降与生活满意度较低相关（p=0.012），女性性活动频率下降与生活满意度较低相关（p<0.001）。男性勃起功能下降和女性性唤起能力下降也与更多的抑郁症状（p<0.001）、较低的生活质量（p<0.001）和较低的生活满意度（男性 p<0.001，女性 p=0.024）显著相关。
经历性功能下降的老年人比没有经历性功能下降的老年人报告的幸福感更差。
