Sexual Function of Men Ages 40 to 79 Years: The Olmsted County Study of Urinary Symptoms and Health Status Among Men

OBJECTIVES: Knowledge of male sexual function is somewhat limited because of a lack of current population‐based data. This study provides information on sexual function and satisfaction in a population‐based sample of men. METHODS: Men aged 40 to 79 years (n = 2115) were selected randomly from the Olmsted County population for the baseline component of a prospective cohort study (the Olmsted County Study of Urinary Symptoms and Health Status Among Men) during 1989–1990. The men completed a self‐administered questionnaire that included questions about sexual concerns, performance, satisfaction, drive, and erectile dysfunction. RESULTS: For all five sexual parameters queried, the prevalence of problems and dysfunction increased with age. A comparison of men aged 70 to 79 years with men aged 40 to 49 years suggested that older men were more worried about sexual function (46.6% vs 24.9%), had worsened performance compared with a year ago (30.1% vs 10.4%), expressed extreme dissatisfaction with sexual performance (10.7% vs 1.7%), had absent sexual drive (25.9% vs 0.6%), and reported complete erectile dysfunction when sexually stimulated (27.4% vs 0.3%). Logistic regression analyses suggested that sexual dissatisfaction was significantly associated with erectile dysfunction, decreased libido, and the interaction between erectile dysfunction and libido, but not age. CONCLUSIONS: These population‐based cross‐sectional data corroborate the previously reported age‐related decrease in sexual function. The age‐related increase in dissatisfaction could, however, be accounted for primarily by the age‐related increase in erectile dysfunction, decreased libido, and the interaction between erectile dysfunction and decreased libido. 1995 The American Geriatrics Society