As reported recently on e! Science News, the study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that there is a big discrepancy in sexual activity between men and women, with the report finding that 62 per cent of men saying they are sexually active, and 37 per cent of women saying the same.
According to the news article, there was a significant variation in sexual practices even within genders, and the oldest age brackets of Spanish seniors, those aged 75 and above, were less sexually active than their younger cohorts. Some factors which helped determine level of activity, according to researchers, was the person’s health level, how many medications are being taken, as well as whether that person was single or married.
“This can be applied to preventing illnesses and promoting health and healthy sexual practices,” one of the study’s researchers, Domingo Palacios of the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid was quoted as saying.
While the Spanish study did not research those living in assisted living or Alzheimer’s Care communities, a 2008 American report found there is a decreasing sexual activity level with age: almost three-quarters of those 57 to 64 reported being active, but the number dropped to less than one-quarter by the age of 85.