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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Oct 25.
Published in final edited form as: J Health Soc Behav. 2016 Sep;57(3):275. doi: 10.1177/0022146516664902

DOES SEX AFFECT CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FOR OLDER MEN AND OLDER WOMEN?

Hui Liu 1, Linda J Waite 2, Shannon Shen 1, Donna H Wang 1
PMCID: PMC5079270  NIHMSID: NIHMS820428  PMID: 27601405

RESEARCH PRO BLEM & DATA

Sexuality is important to the quality of life throughout adulthood, with social, emotional, and physical health benefits. Despite evidence pointing to a strong linkage between social relationships and health, partnered sexuality, as a fundamental type of social relationship, has been largely ignored. Our understanding of this unique relationship and its consequences for health is even less advanced for older adults. We examine how characteristics of partnered sexuality, particularly sexual activity and sexual quality, shape cardiovascular risk over time for older men and women.

Using the first two waves of nationally representative longitudinal data from the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (N = 2,204), we analyzed the links of older men’s and women’s sexual activities and sexual quality within their partnered relationship with later cardiovascular risk. Cardiovascular risk is measured as hypertension, rapid heart rate, elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), and general cardiovascular events—heart attack, heart failure, and stroke. Partnered sexuality is measured as being sexually active and sexual frequency during the past year. Both physical and emotional dimensions of sexual quality are also examined. Cross-lagged models are applied to account for potential reverse causality.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

Although some studies suggest that women’s health is especially vulnerable to poor relationships, our results reveal an optimistic finding: Women’s cardiovascular health can benefit from a rewarding sexual relationship. Given that CVD continues to be the leading cause of death, policies that promote relationship quality should be implemented to help reduce CVDs and promote longevity, especially for older women. Among older men, moderate sexual frequency may promote health, but having sex too frequently or too enjoyably may be a risk factor for CVD. These findings challenge the assumption that sex brings uniform health benefits and suggest important clinical implications: Physicians should talk to older male patients about potential risks of high levels of sexual activity and perhaps screen those who frequently have sex for CVDs.

Figure 1.

Figure 1

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Estimated Odds Ratios of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Events at Wave 2 by Sexual Frequency at Wave 1 for Older Men: National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, 2005–2006 and 2010–2011 (N = 1,046).

Figure 2.

Figure 2

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Estimated Relative Risk Ratios of Hypertension at Wave 2 by Sexual Quality at Wave 1 for Older Women: National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, 2005–2006 and 2010–2011 (N=1,158).

Key Findings.

  • Men who had sex once a week or more were more likely to have experienced cardiovascular disease (CVD) events five years later than men who were sexually inactive in the past year, although infrequent sex was related to lower risk in some measures (e.g., CRP).

  • Women who found sex with their partner extremely pleasurable and/or extremely satisfying had lower risk of hypertension five years later than women who did not feel so.

  • Men who found sex with their partner extremely pleasurable and/or extremely satisfying had higher risk of CVD events five years later than men who did not feel so.

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