Study to arouse concern: Men with low sex drive and loss of libido likely to suffer an early death

Men with low libido are up to twice as likely to suffer an early death than their peers, a study suggests.

Researchers say a persistent lack of sexual interest can be a sign of poor habits like smoking, drinking or overeating – which raise the risk of chronic disease.

They looked at the medical records and survey answers of more than 20,000 men and women in Japan for over a decade.

Results showed males over 40 who had low libido were nearly twice as likely to die from cancer, while the risk of a heart disease death was one-and-a-half times greater.

The findings remained true even after the scientists accounted for smoking, alcohol use, BMI, underlying health conditions, exercise levels and other variables. The scientists speculate that poor lifestyle habits reduced men’s sex drives.

Japanese scientists established a link between poorer longevity and lower sex drive in men, though they did not reach the same conclusion when looking at the sex drives of women

All-cause mortality was associated with lower sexual interest. People with lower interest in sex were 1.82 times more likely than people with health sex drives to die of all causes

The study authors from Yamagata University said: ‘Although sexual activity and sexual satisfaction are considered of benefit to psychological health and wellbeing in older groups, the association between sexual interest and longevity has not been investigated. 

‘This study is the first to prospectively examine associations between sexual interest and all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular and cancer mortality in a community-based population.’ 

Low libido was linked with greater mortality due to cancer. People with lower libido were nearly twice as likely to die of cancer than those with healthy interest in sex

Low rates of sexual interest were linked with higher mortality linked to cardiovascular complications. People with low sex drives were 1.36 times as likely to die of a heart issue. 

 The study, published in the journal PLOS One, was the first to study the association between libido and mortality.

The scientists wrote: ‘Although sexual activity and sexual satisfaction are considered of benefit to psychological health and wellbeing in older groups, the association between sexual interest and longevity has not been investigated.’

In the sample of 20,969 people – 8,558 males and 12,411 females – the scientists studied the results of people’s health check-ins during which they were asked to fill out sexual interest questionnaires. 

Women in the study were more than twice as likely to report lower libido, yet scientists did not establish a link between that and mortality.

People who reported a lack of interest in sex trended older, were more likely to drink more, had diabetes, laughed less, experienced some kind of psychological distress, and had lower levels of education.

Men with lower sex drive were also more like to report lacking ‘ikigai’, a Japanese term for a reason for living, or the joy and goal of having a life worth living.

‘Based on these results, we speculate that maintaining sexual interest may be related to positive psychological well-being and ‘ikigai’ especially among men,’ scientists wrote.

While they did not pinpoint the reason for the link between longevity and libido, their findings support established science to support the notion that a healthy sex life contributes to better health overall.

The benefits of sex are wide ranging and can improve sleep, bolster the immune system, tamp down depression and anxiety, and improve heart health.

Still, ‘further study is required to clarify the mechanisms which underlie the preventive effects of sexual interest on mortality,’ the scientists concluded.

The study had a major caveat. It focused on a relatively small population in a single region of Japan, meaning the findings may not apply to the rest of the globe.

While many developed countries such as Canada promote sexual health as a key for seniors to stay healthy, other countries including Japan has ‘more prejudice about sex among the elderly than in the Western world’.

‘We hope our findings will help promote public health through advocating sexuality in Japan,’ they said.