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Diabetes impairs but does not halt sex in older adults
Lindau ST. Diabetes Care. 2010;doi: 10.2337/dc10-0524.
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Many middle-aged and older adults with diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes are sexually active, according to results of a new study.
About 70% of partnered men with diabetes and 62% of partnered women reported engaging in sexual activity two to three times per month compared with men and women without diabetes.
However, diabetes had a negative effect on the desire and rewards of sexual activity. Men with diabetes were more likely to express a lack of interest in sex and to experience erectile dysfunction. In addition, both men and women reported a higher rate of orgasm difficulties, such as climaxing too quickly or not at all.
“Failure to recognize and address sexual issues among middle-aged and older adults with diabetes may impair quality of life and adaptation to the disease,” Marshall Chin, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, said in a press release. “Sexual problems are common in patients with diabetes and many patients are not discussing these issues with their physicians.”
The cross-sectional, nationally representative study included nearly 2,000 adults aged 57 to 85 years. Participants completed at-home interviews and self-administered questionnaires and were screened for diabetes.
The researchers noted differences between the sexes. Women with diabetes were less likely than men with diabetes or women without diabetes to have a sexually active lifestyle.
“Nearly half of the women in this age group do not have a partner,” Stacy Lindau, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and of medicine at University of Chicago, said in the release. “Those who have partners were more likely than ment to avoid sex because of a problem, and were far less likely than men to discuss a sexual problem with their doctors.”
More than 60% of men without diabetes reported masturbating during the previous year compared with 47% of men with diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes. For women, masturbation was less common, and was reported by just 15% of women with diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes vs. 29% of women without diabetes.
Overall, adults with diagnosed diabetes were more likely to communicate difficulties with sexual function to their physician (47% for men; 19% for women) compared with adults with undiagnosed diabetes (28% for men; 11% for women).