Female Sexual Dysfunction Increases With Age

Nearly two-thirds of women who attended a urology practice reported that they suffer from sexual dysfunction, according to a paper in the BJUI August edition.

Dysfunction increases with age in all categories except orgasm, with more than half of women aged 18-30 reported orgasm problems, much higher than women aged 31-54.

Researchers questioned 587 women aged 18-95, who attended a urology clinic in New Jersey, United States, about six key areas of female sexual dysfunction (FSD): lack of desire, arousal problems, lack of lubrication, trouble reaching orgasm, lack of satisfaction and pain during sexual intercourse.

“We found that 63% of women suffer from FSD and that there was a significant relationship between FSD and age, menopausal status and use of selective antidepressants,” said Dr. Debra Fromer, Head of Health Center for Bladder, Prostate, and Pelvic at Hackensack University Medical Centre, New Jersey, according to Sexual Health News.

12% of women who took part in this study aged 18-30, 27% aged 31-45, 25% aged 46-54, 24% aged 55-70 and 12% aged 70.

Key findings from this survey include:

* The age group which is most sexually active is 31-45 years (87%), aged 18-30 years (85%) and aged 46-54 years (74%). Then fell sharply at the age of 55-70 years (45%) and in women over 70 (15%).

* The problem faced is the lack of desire (47%), followed by problems with orgasm (45%), arousal problems (40%), lack of satisfaction (39%), lack of lubrication (37%) and pain (36%).

“FSD can have a major impact on life quality of a women,” said Dr. Fromer. He believes that it could seriously affect the sense of wholeness and relationship.

Researchers have found a significant relationship between the main categories of sexual dysfunction, lack of physical satisfaction and emotional satisfaction.

Therefore, according to researchers, it is important to ensure that problems are promptly identified and addressed wherever possible.