Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Canadian Family Physician logoLink to Canadian Family Physician
. 1984 Mar;30:619–624.

Sex After Sixty

May Cohen
PMCID: PMC2154170  PMID: 21279081

Abstract

Although sexuality is an intrinsic part of one's humanity throughout the lifespan, health professionals frequently ignore the sexual needs and concerns of the elderly. Deterrents to sexual activity may include society's disapproval of sexual expression by the elderly, lack of a partner, the elderly person's own lack of sexual knowledge or belief that nonreproductive sexuality is wrong, and lack of privacy. Physicians must accept elderly people's sexuality and develop attitudes and skills which facilitate communication. It is particularly important to make elderly patients aware that they do not have to have intercourse in order to express their sexuality, and to educate them about the physiological and pathological changes with aging, so they realize these changes need not mean the end of sexual expression.

Full text

PDF
619

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bloch A., Maeder J. P., Haissly J. C. Sexual problems after myocardial infarction. Am Heart J. 1975 Oct;90(4):536–537. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Boyer G., Boyer J. Sexuality and aging. Nurs Clin North Am. 1982 Sep;17(3):421–427. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Burnap D. W., Golden J. S. Sexual problems in medical practice. J Med Educ. 1967 Jul;42(7):673–680. doi: 10.1097/00001888-196707000-00006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Catania J. A., White C. B. Sexuality in an aged sample: cognitive determinants of masturbation. Arch Sex Behav. 1982 Jun;11(3):237–245. doi: 10.1007/BF01544992. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Davidson J. M., Chen J. J., Crapo L., Gray G. D., Greenleaf W. J., Catania J. A. Hormonal changes and sexual function in aging men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1983 Jul;57(1):71–77. doi: 10.1210/jcem-57-1-71. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Davidson J. M., Kwan M., Greenleaf W. J. Hormonal replacement and sexuality in men. Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1982 Nov;11(3):599–623. doi: 10.1016/s0300-595x(82)80003-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hellerstein H. K., Friedman E. H. Sexual activity and the postcoronary patient. Arch Intern Med. 1970 Jun;125(6):987–999. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Herr H. W. Preservation of sexual potency in prostatic cancer patients after 125I implantation. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1979 Jan;27(1):17–19. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1979.tb01714.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kavanagh T., Shephard R. J. Sexual activity after myocardial infarction. Can Med Assoc J. 1977 Jun 4;116(11):1250–1253. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Martin C. E. Factor affecting sexual functioning in 60-79-year-old married males. Arch Sex Behav. 1981 Oct;10(5):399–420. doi: 10.1007/BF01541434. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Nemec E. D., Mansfield L., Kennedy J. W. Heart rate and blood pressure responses during sexual activity in normal males. Am Heart J. 1976 Sep;92(3):274–277. doi: 10.1016/s0002-8703(76)80106-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Papadopoulos C. Cardiovascular drugs and sexuality: a cardiologist's review. Arch Intern Med. 1980 Oct;140(10):1341–1345. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Pfeiffer E., Davis G. C. Determinants of sexual behavior in middle and old age. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1972 Apr;20(4):151–158. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1972.tb00789.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Pfeiffer E., Verwoerdt A., Wang H. S. Sexual behavior in aged men and women. I. Observations on 254 community volunteers. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1968 Dec;19(6):753–758. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1968.01740120113016. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Vermeulen A. Decline in sexual activity in ageing men: correlation with sex hormone levels and testicular changes. J Biosoc Sci Suppl. 1979;(6):5–18. doi: 10.1017/s0021932000024275. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Verwoerdt A., Pfeiffer E., Wang H. S. Sexual behavior in senescence. II. Patterns of sexual activity and interest. Geriatrics. 1969 Feb;24(2):137–154. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Wasow M., Loeb M. B. Sexuality in nursing homes. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1979 Feb;27(2):73–79. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1979.tb03344.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. White C. B. A scale for the assessment of attitudes and knowledge regarding sexuality in the aged. Arch Sex Behav. 1982 Dec;11(6):491–502. doi: 10.1007/BF01542474. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Canadian Family Physician are provided here courtesy of College of Family Physicians of Canada

RESOURCES