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 "To
the extent that women are (sexually active), they may be facing men who have
problems," said lead researcher Edward Laumann, a University of Chicago
sociologist due to present some of his findings at a Vancouver, British
Columbia, conference on Thursday, October 10, 2002.
The survey found that 31 percent of middle-aged and older women lacked interest
in sex, 22 percent were unable to achieve orgasm, 21 percent did not find sex
pleasurable, 20 percent had trouble lubricating, and 14 percent experienced pain
with sex.
 Among men, about 20 percent suffered from erectile dysfunction, which increased
to nearly half by age 80, according to the survey, which was funded by Pfizer,
Inc., the maker of the impotence treatment Viagra.
Among the health problems common to older people associated with sexual
dysfunction were diabetes and hypertension, especially in men. But psychological
factors, especially depression, diminished interest in sex after 40.
In the United States, two-thirds of men aged 70 or older have a companion who is
a potential sex partner, while less than one-third of women do because of
women's longer life spans and divorce patterns.
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