Sexual function of men ages 40 to 79 years: the Olmsted County Study of Urinary Symptoms and Health Status Among Men

Abstract

Objectives: Knowledge of male sexual function is somewhat limited because of a lack of current population-based data. This study provides information on sexual function and satisfaction in a population-based sample of men.

Methods: Men aged 40 to 79 years (n = 2115) were selected randomly from the Olmsted County population for the baseline component of a prospective cohort study (the Olmsted County Study of Urinary Symptoms and Health Status Among Men) during 1989-1990. The men completed a self-administered questionnaire that included questions about sexual concerns, performance, satisfaction, drive, and erectile dysfunction.

Results: For all five sexual parameters queried, the prevalence of problems and dysfunction increased with age. A comparison of men aged 70 to 79 years with men aged 40 to 49 years suggested that older men were more worried about sexual function (46.6% vs 24.9%), had worsened performance compared with a year ago (30.1% vs 10.4%), expressed extreme dissatisfaction with sexual performance (10.7% vs 1.7%), had absent sexual drive (25.9% vs 0.6%), and reported complete erectile dysfunction when sexually stimulated (27.4% vs 0.3%). Logistic regression analyses suggested that sexual dissatisfaction was significantly associated with erectile dysfunction, decreased libido, and the interaction between erectile dysfunction and libido, but not age.

Conclusions: These population-based cross-sectional data corroborate the previously reported age-related decrease in sexual function. The age-related increase in dissatisfaction could, however, be accounted for primarily by the age-related increase in erectile dysfunction, decreased libido, and the interaction between erectile dysfunction and decreased libido.