Source: http://www.unhs.co.uk/unhs/your-health/health-and-wellbeing/sexual-health/sexual-health.aspx
Various cultures and beliefs all over the world associate sex with sickness and a short life span. However, studies on health and longevity do not support this commonly held belief.
The most famous study (as well as controversial) about sex and health was done in a town called Caerphilly in UK in 1979 to 1983 involving 918 men aged between 45 to 59 years old. In this study, the causes of death of the participants were assessed together with their sexual and orgasm frequency. The study concludes that there is an inverse relationship between orgasmic frequency and death. Which means, the more sexually active the participants, the longer they lived.
Another similar study was done in Asian community (Taiwan) in 1989 to 2003. In this study, 2453 of men and women aged 65 years and older were recruited and their health parameters were assessed together with their sexual frequency. This study found that there is an inverse relation between sexual activity and death, both for men and women. The sexually active men and women were apparently living longer and healthier than their peers.
The latest study was published in 2010 by British Medical Journal (BMJ). In this study 3032 people of both genders in USA aged 25 to 74 years old were recruited and their health parameters were compared between various sexual activities and frequencies. In this study, it was found that both men and women who are able to maintain higher sexual desire and activities were also better in various health parameters. Simply put, the sexier they were, the healthier their lives.
It is now commonly accepted among anti-aging practitioners that sexual desire and the ability to perform sex is a major indicator of health and longevity. The declining sexual desire is often due to declining levels of hormones such as testosterone, estrogen, progesterone and oxytocin. Unfortunately, these are also the hormones that maintain youthful life in both man and woman. As such, declining sexual desire often indicates the onset of age related chronic illnesses.
Sexual activity needs the body and mind to be almost at the peak of health for it to be enjoyable and meaningful to the person concerned. Even the slightest health disturbances such as headache or preoccupied mind will prevent a person from desiring and performing sex. Lack of sex due to loss of libido, loss of lubrication or erectile dysfunction is therefore an extremely important predictor of looming diseases and death.
It is therefore true that when someone starting to have a diminished sexual desire and claimed to lead a virtuous life, that someone is definitely one step closer to his or her maker though not in a good way.
The lesson for all of us is, when sex is waning due to various reasons when it should not, it is probably the time do some health check-ups.
This article was written by the Malaysian Medical Gazette’s permanent columnist Dr. Rizin H Kusop who is currently the proprietor and MO in charge of a group practice franchise in Sabah who has a special interest in Anti-aging, Regenerative and Aesthetics medicine. Find out more about him at The Team page.
Sources:
- Smith, GD et al. Sex and death: are they related? Findings from the Caerphilly cohort study. BMJ. 1997; 315: 1641-44.
- Chen, HK et al. A prospective cohort study on the effect of sexual activity, libido and widowhood on mortality among the elderly people: 14-year follow up of 2453 elderly Taiwanese. Int J Epid. 2007; 36:1136-1142.
- Lindau, ST et al. Sex, health, and years of sexually active gained due to good health: evidence from two US population based cross sectional surveys of ageing. BMJ. 2010; 340:c810.
[This article belongs to The Malaysian Medical Gazette. Any republication (online or offline) without written permission from The Malaysian Medical Gazette is prohibited.]