Middle-Aged Women Still Believe Sex is Important

Middle-aged women who are sexually active are more likely to engage in sex as they grow older, regardless if they have been previously diagnosed with sexual dysfunction, a new research finds.

"There's this popular public perception that as women age, sex becomes unimportant and that women just stop having sex as they get older," said lead study author Dr. Holly Thomas. "From our study, it looks like most women continue to have sex during midlife. It may be detrimental to label a woman as sexually dysfunctional," she added.

Since 1998, psychologists and doctors have been debating the value of diagnosing women with sexual dysfunction after the release of Viagra set off a search for a female version of the drug. To diagnose a woman's sexual problem, doctors use a test called Female Sexual Function Index. The index includes 19 questions about arousal, orgasm, vaginal lubrication and pain during intercourse. In the latest study, researchers looked at 354 middle-aged and older women from Pittsburgh who reported being sexually active when they first took the test.

More than 85 percent of the respondents reported that they remained sexually active when they took the test the second time between the age of 48 and 73. The most important predictors used by the researchers included race, weight, relationship status and how women deemed sex as important. Results were published in the JAMA Internal Medicine. "We've seen from other research that a healthy sex life is a predictor of longevity," Thomas said. "So understanding sex might have broader implications for overall health."