Sexual satisfaction in women increases with age

new study of sexually active older women has found that sexual satisfaction in women increases with age and those not engaging in sex are satisfied with their sex lives. A majority of study participants report frequent arousal and orgasm that continue into old age, despite low sexual desire.
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The study appears in the January issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System evaluated sexual activity and satisfaction as reported by 806 older women who are part of the Rancho Bernardo Study (RBS) cohort, a group of women who live in a planned community near San Diego and whose health has been tracked for medical research for 40 years. The study measured the prevalence of current sexual activity; the characteristics associated with sexual activity including demographics, health, and hormone use; frequency of arousal, lubrication, orgasm, and pain during sexual intercourse; and sexual desire and satisfaction in older women.

The median age in the study was 67 years and 63% were postmenopausal. Half the respondents who reported having a partner had been sexually active in the last 4 weeks. The likelihood of sexual activity declined with increasing age. The majority of the sexually active women, 67.1%, achieved orgasm most of the time or always. The youngest and oldest women in the study reported the highest frequency of orgasm satisfaction.

40% of all women stated that they never or almost never felt sexual desire, and one third of the sexually active women reported low sexual desire. Lead investigator Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, MD, Distinguished Professor and Chief, Division of Epidemiology, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, comments, "Despite a correlation between sexual desire and other sexual function domains, only 1 in 5 sexually active women reported high sexual desire. Approximately half of the women aged 80 years or more reported arousal, lubrication, and orgasm most of the time, but rarely reported sexual desire. In contrast with traditional linear model in which desire precedes sex, these results suggest that women engage in sexual activity for multiple reasons, which may include affirmation or sustenance of a relationship."

Regardless of partner status or sexual activity, 61% of all women in this cohort were satisfied with their overall sex life. Although older age has been described as a significant predictor of low sexual satisfaction, the percentage of RBS sexually satisfied women actually increased with age, with approximately half of the women over 80 years old reporting sexual satisfaction almost always or always. Not only were the oldest women in this study the most satisfied overall, those who were recently sexually active experienced orgasm satisfaction rates similar to the youngest participants. "In this study, sexual activity was not always necessary for sexual satisfaction. Those who were not sexually active may have achieved sexual satisfaction through touching, caressing, or other intimacies developed over the course of a long relationship," says first author Susan Trompeter, MD, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine. Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Staff Physician at the VA San Diego Healthcare System.

"Emotional and physical closeness to the partner may be more important than experiencing orgasm. A more positive approach to female sexual health focusing on sexual satisfaction may be more beneficial to women than a focus limited to female sexual activity or dysfunction," Trompeter concludes.
SOURCE:SCIENCEDAILY

The perfect excuse for a pint! Regular beer-drinking could help ward off Alzheimer's and Parkinsons, say scientists

Regularly drinking beer could help slow dementia, research suggests.

Scientists have discovered an ingredient in hops which they think could slow the progression of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

In laboratory experiments they found that the chemical, called xanthohumol or Xn, could help protect brain cells from oxidative damage associated with dementia.

The research, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, suggested that people who regularly drink beer might be better able to ward off the progression of neurological diseases.

Healthy pint: Scientists have discovered an ingredient in hops which they think could slow the progression of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's (file photo)

Dr Jianguo Fang, of Lanzhou University in China, wrote: 'Hops from dried female clusters of the hop plant are widely used in beers and a few types of soft drinks.

'In traditional Chinese medicine, hops have been used to treat a variety of ailments for centuries.

'The presence of a high concentration of Xn in beers might be linked to the epidemiological observation of the beneficial effect of regular beer drinking.

'Xn has attracted considerable interest because of its multiple pharmacological functions, including anti-oxidation, cardiovascular protection, anticancer and cancer chemoprevention, antivirus, anti-obesity, and anti-inflammation.'
His team isolated Xn molecules and tested them on brain cells from rats in a series of laboratory experiments.

They found that Xn reduced the level of oxidative stress on the cells, a damaging process thought to be closely linked to degenerative diseases.

Writing in the journal, they said: 'As neuronal cells are particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress and have limited replenishment during the entire lifespan, increasing evidence has supported oxidative stress as one of the pathogenic causes in the neuropathology of adult neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.'

Stopping the oxidative process 'could efficiently block or retard the process of such diseases', they

Dr Fang's team suggested that beer might slow down common neurological diseases, but they also suggested the molecule could be used in drugs to better target the problems.

They cited a 1998 Canadian study in which men who regularly drank beer were found to have lower rates of prostate cancer, a trend they suggested may also be down to the protective function of Xn molecules.

'Our results suggest that Xn might be a potential candidate for the prevention of neurodegenerative disorders,' they wrote.

British scientists, however, warned against drinking beer too often.

Previous research has suggested that excessive alcohol consumption can lead to brain tissue loss and that binge drinking is associated with an increased risk of dementia.

And separate studies have concluded that developing a beer belly in middle age boosts the risk of Alzheimer's in later life three-fold.

Doctors have warned that increasing trends of heavy drinking among the middle class and younger people will lead to a 'silent dementia epidemic' within a few years.

Dr Arthur Roach, director of research at Parkinson's UK, said last night: 'Many drugs have their origins in natural products.

'Xanthohumol, the molecule in beer this study focuses on, appears to have protective effects on cells grown in the lab similar to those lost in Parkinson's.

'It certainly does not suggest drinking a pint a day could stave off the condition.

'This is a very early step, and only further work will indicate whether this could lead to new drugs for Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases.'
SOURCE:DAILYMAIL