Sexually active life expectancy

Sexually active life expectancy is the average number of years remaining for a person to be sexually active. This population-based indicator extends the concept of health expectancy to the measure of sexuality (via sexual activity). Calculation of sexually active life expectancy uses the age-specific prevalence data on sexual activity in conjunction with life table data on survival probabilities to partition the number of person-years into years with and without sexual activity, which is based on the Sullivan method.[1] The measure of sexually active life expectancy was introduced by Lindau and Gavrilova.[2][3][4]

A study of two large population-based U.S. surveys found that, on average, women expect fewer years of sexual activity, mainly due to prevalent widowhood among older women. This gender disparity is attenuated for people with a spouse or other intimate partner. The study also found that men tend to lose more years of sexually active life due to poor health.[4]

Sexually active life expectancy is an associated with self-reports of good health in both men and women. Sexuality has been identified as an important attribute to overall health and a marker of quality of life. Physicians may find that sexually active life expectancy can be used as an incentive for patients to become (and stay) healthy.[4]

A study investigating the relationship between years of sexually active life and health, showed that men tend to be more interested in sex compared to women, both in midlife and later life. In addition, the research demonstrated that only 51.8% of women in a later stage of life reported being satisfied by their sexual life compared to 71.1% of men.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Sullivan, D.F. (1971). "A single index of mortality and morbidity". HSMHA Health Reports. 86: 347–354. doi:10.2307/4594169. PMC 1937122Freely accessible. PMID 5554262.
  2. ↑ Gavrilova, N.; Lindau, S.T. (2007). "An overlooked aspect of women's health" (PDF). Proceedings of the 19th REVES meeting. St.Petersburg, Florida.
  3. ↑ Lindau, S.T.; Gavrilova, N. (2008). "Population gender differences in the effects of obesity on later life sexuality and sexually active life expectancy". Gerontologist. 48: 130.
  4. 1 2 3 Lindau, S.T.; Gavrilova, N. (2010). "Sex, health, and years of sexually active life gained due to good health: evidence from two US population based cross sectional surveys of ageing". British Medical Journal. 340: c810. doi:10.1136/bmj.c850. PMC 2835854Freely accessible. PMID 20215365.
  5. ↑ [Lindau, S. T., & Gavrilova, N. (2010). Sex, health, and years of sexually active life gained due to good health: evidence from two US population based cross sectional surveys of ageing. BMJ, 340, c810.]

Further reading

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.