Poor diet, alcohol, drugs and smoking linked to sex problems

A new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine reveals that several unhealthy lifestyle factors, such as weight problems, physical inactivity, high alcohol consumption, tobacco smoking, and hard drugs are associated with sexual dysfunctions in men. Additionally, an unhealthy lifestyle is more common in persons who are sexually inactive.

Researchers led by Associate Professor Morten Frisch, MD, PhD, DSc, of Statens Serum Institut, used nationally representative survey data from 5,552 Danish men and women aged 16 – 97 years in 2005 to study the association of lifestyle factors with sexual inactivity and sexual dysfunction.

Results found that a number of unhealthy lifestyle factors are associated with increased risk of not having a partner-related sex life by up to 78% in men and up to 91% in women. Among those who had a sexual partner, risk of experiencing sexual dysfunction was greater in men who lead unhealthy lives by 71% in those with substantially increased waist circumference and more than 800% in men using hard drugs. Women who used hashish had almost 3 times increased risk of anorgasmia (difficulties or inability to reach climax during sexual activity with a partner) compared to non-users.

“Hopefully our findings can be used in future counseling of patients with unhealthy lifestyles,” Frisch concludes. “Knowing about possible negative consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle to one’s sexual health may help people quit smoking, consume less alcohol, exercise more, and lose weight.”

“There are many reasons for sexual dysfunction, including those over which you have no control, such as after cancer treatments, or following injuries,” explained Irwin Goldstein, Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, “but lifestyle and recreational drug use are individual choices. Each person can modify lifestyle, especially diet and exercise and stop using recreational drugs that inhibit the sexual reflex, to be healthier thereby facilitating sexual function.”

Full citation: Frisch et al. Associations of Unhealthy Lifestyle Factors with Sexual Inactivity and Sexual Dysfunctions in Denmark. The Journal of Sexual Medicine; http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2011.02291.x

The Journal of Sexual Medicine is a peer-reviewed publication founded in 2004 and is the official journal of the International Society for Sexual Medicine, its four regional affiliated societies and the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health. It publishes multi-disciplinary basic science and clinical research to define and understand the scientific basis of male and female sexual function and dysfunction. For more information, please visit www.jsm.issm.info. The International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) was founded in 1982 for the purpose of promoting, throughout the international scientific community, research and knowledge in sexual medicine, considered as the subspecialty area of medicine that embraces the study, diagnosis and treatment of the sexual health concerns of men and women. The society has over 2700 members worldwide, with four regional societies that are affiliated with ISSM: the Asia Pacific Society for Sexual Medicine, European Society for Sexual Medicine, Latin American Society for Sexual Medicine, and Sexual Medicine Society of North America. For more information please visit www.issm.info.