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Marital Coital Activity in Men at the Age of 75: Relation to Somatic, Psychiatric, and Social Factors at the Age of 70
Author(s) -
Persson Göran,
Svanborg Alvar
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1992.tb02007.x
Subject(s) - medicine , diabetes mellitus , marital status , social stress , observational study , longitudinal study , psychiatry , demography , population , endocrinology , environmental health , pathology , sociology
Objective To find somatic, psychiatric, and social variables that predicted cessation of coital activity in elderly married men. Design Prospective, longitudinal, observational study Setting General survey of a representative sample of 70‐year‐old urban men (born in 1901–02) in Göteborg, Sweden. Participants Forty‐one men who were married and had coital activity at age 70 and who, at the age of 75, were still married when the sample was reinterviewed. Main Outcome Measures Presence (c) or absence (nc) of coital activity at age 75. Results Cessation of coital activity was associated with vasculogenic factors. At least one of the following disorders—systemic hypertension, ischemic heart disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes mellitus, or hypertriglyceridemia—was found in three of the C men and 14 of the NC men, P < 0.005. Systemic hypertension was the most common disorder and was found in one C man and 10 NC men, P < 0.01. Cessation of coital activity was associated with specified types of stress between 65 and 70 years of age in the subgroup of men who had stopped due to inability; six out of eight reported stress against five out of 20 in the C group, P < 0.05. There was no association with any of the psychiatric or social factors studied. Conclusions Cessation of coital activity is predicted by somatic disorders which are associated with vascular damage and especially by hypertension. This observation does not allow the conclusion that antihypertensive treatment would be effective in postponing the cessation of coital activity.