Women do not lose interest in sex as they age, study finds

It’s a myth that women lose interest in sex after middle age, according to an American survey that followed more than 3,200 patients for about 15 years.

“About a quarter of women rate sex as very important, regardless of age,” said Holly Thomas, lead author of an abstract presented during the American Menopause Society’s annual virtual meeting in September 2020.

“The study showed that a substantial number of women still value sex very much, even as they age, and that this is not abnormal,” continued Thomas, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.

“If women can talk about the topic with their partners and ensure satisfying and enjoyable sex, they will be more likely to rate activity as very important as they age,” he explained.

“In fact, it’s very encouraging that for a quarter of women, sex not only remains on the radar but is very important in their lives,” added Dr Stephanie Faubion, medical director of the American Menopause Society, who was not involved in the study.

“Studies such as these provide valuable information for healthcare professionals who might otherwise dismiss a woman’s declining sex drive as a natural part of aging,” he said.

breaking myths

It’s true that previous studies have found that women tend to lose interest in sex as they age. But specialists in women’s health say this does not correspond to the reality they encounter in their daily lives.

“Some of the previous studies have suggested that sex goes downhill and all women lose interest in sex as they age,” Thomas said. “It’s not what I hear from all my patients.”

One of the problems, she says, is that previous studies have taken a sample of a woman’s desire at a certain point in her life and compared it with similar samples from the last few decades of her life.

“This type of longitudinal study only shows averages over time,” Thomas said. “If we look at the average, it might seem like everyone follows a certain path.”

The study presented in 2020 used a different type of analysis that allowed researchers to track a woman’s desire over time – in this case, for 15 years.

How do ideas about sex change over time?

The research, which analyzed data from a national multicenter study called SWAN, which is a national study of women’s health in the US, found three distinct paths towards the importance of sex in a woman’s life.

Just over a quarter of women (28%) follow traditional thinking on the subject: they value sex less in middle age.

But a quarter of the women in the study said the opposite. About 27% of them said that sex is still very important in their 40s, 50s and 60s, a striking contradiction of the belief that all women lose interest as they age.

“Sex is viewed differently,” commented Dr. Faubion, who is director of the Mayo Clinic’s Women’s Health Center. “He is not seen in the same way at 40 as he was at 20, nor at 60 compared to 40, and at 80 compared to 60”, she exemplified.

“There may be some modifications we have to make, but people who are generally healthy and in good relationships are still sexual.”

The women in the study who valued sex shared the following characteristics: they were well educated, were less depressed, and had experienced more pleasurable relationships before entering middle age.

“Women who had more satisfying sex in their 40s were more likely to continue to place a high value on sex as they aged,” Thomas said.

The expert added that socioeconomic factors can also influence this perception. For example, more educated women may have higher incomes and feel more stable in their lives, with less stress. “With that, they have more mental space to make sex a priority because they don’t worry about other things,” Thomas said.

The study found another important factor for low or high interest: race and ethnicity. Black women were more likely to say that sex was important to them during middle age, while Oriental women of Chinese and Japanese origin were more likely to rate sex as less valued in the same phase.

“I want to emphasize that this finding is much more likely to have to do with sociocultural factors than with any biological factors”, added the doctor. “Women from different cultural groups have different attitudes, different levels of comfort with aging and what they think is ‘normal’ for a woman to continue to value throughout her life”.

What factors affect a woman’s sexual interest?

Most women (48%) fell into a third path: They valued a healthy sex life as they entered menopause, but gradually lost interest throughout their 50s or 60s.

There are a number of emotional, physical and psychological factors that can affect how a woman views sex, experts say. Most can be divided into four categories:

• medical conditions

As women enter perimenopause between their 40s and 50s, they begin to experience hormonal changes that can make sex less satisfying or even painful.

The drop in estrogen causes the vulva and the tissues of the vagina to become thinner, drier and easier to bruise, bruise or become irritated. Excitement can get harder. Hot flashes and other signs of menopause can affect mood and sleep quality, leading to fatigue, anxiety, irritability, mental confusion and depression.

Many medical conditions can arise or worsen during middle age that can also affect libido.

“For example, does the person have conditions like hip arthritis that cause pain during sex? Or arthritis in the hand, which can make it difficult to have sex? Or diabetes, which affects sensations? Or even heart disease?”, listed Faubion.

“But there are modifications that we talk about all the time to help people stay sexual, even people with quadriplegia, for example. There are ways to maintain sexuality despite disability.”

• Mental and emotional considerations

The psychological component of sex can have a big influence on a woman’s levels of sexual desire. A history of sexual or physical abuse, substance addiction issues and depression, anxiety and stress are important factors in this category.

“I always stress the impact of anxiety and stress on sex,” Faubion said. “Think of the fight-or-flight mechanism: in anxiety, your adrenaline is pumping, like back in the days when we lived in caves and a lion chased us. Are you going to lie down on the lawn and have sex with the lion at the door? The answer is no. And that’s how women are with anxiety all the time: anxiety is a hugely important factor in determining whether women are or will stay sexual.”

Although the study did not specifically look at anxiety, the results showed that women with more depressive symptoms were much less likely to rank sex as a priority. In addition to the emotional impact, reduced libido is a side effect of many antidepressants prescribed to treat depression.

• component of the couple

Midlife women can also face dramatic and disturbing changes in their love lives, affecting their interest in sex.

“Have you lost a partner through divorce or death? Is the partner developing health problems that make sex more difficult or inconvenient? Is he involved in other aspects of your life, such as your career, caring for grandchildren or adult children? This makes it difficult to prioritize sex,” Thomas said.

Even within a couple, the relationship can have ups and downs that affect how a woman handles intimacy. “Do you like your partner?” Faubion asked. “Is your communication good? Even logistics can get in the way: are you both in the same place at the same time?”, she questioned.

• social customs

Society also affects how a woman feels about sex. Religious, cultural and family values ​​on the subject can play an important role in comfort and sexual satisfaction. “We hear a lot of what society teaches us about aging women. So for some, being sexual is a bad thing. Women shouldn’t like sex, period”, explained the doctor.

“I saw many women in my clinic aged between 60 and 65 who never received sex education, their partners never received sex education, and they don’t even want to know anything about the subject”, he said.

What can be done?

Of course, if a woman doesn’t mind a lack of sex, then there’s no reason to see a doctor, as Doctors Faubion and Thomas said. But the two said that previous studies have shown that about 10% to 15% of women who have a lower interest in sex are concerned about it and would like to find a solution.

There are ways doctors can help, including medications and therapies, but first a woman must reach out and speak with her doctor.
“Previous research has shown that women are often hesitant to tell their doctors, perhaps because they feel embarrassed or because they see it as part of normal aging that is not worth addressing,” Thomas said.

Dr Faubion added: “The bottom line is: women should speak to a professional if they have concerns about their sexual health. It is an important part of life and there are solutions for women who suffer from it.”