Sex advice for older men says "use or lose it"

A new study by researchers in Finland has some advice for older men when it comes to preserving their sexual function.

The new advice basically says, "use or lose it", the more sex older men have the lower their risk of developing erectile dysfunction (ED).

The researchers advise men who want to preserve their sexual function to have sex often.

The researchers conducted a study that tracked 989 older Finnish men between the ages of 55 and 75 for a five year period and found those who were regularly having sex at the start of the study were at lower risk of developing ED by the end of the study.

The average age of the men was 59 years old, most were married or cohabitating, more than half of them were overweight and nearly half had at least one chronic medical condition.

The researchers say the more often the men had sex, the lower their ED risk which suggests that men should be encouraged to stay sexually active as they age.

Dr. Juha Koskimaki and colleagues at the University of Tampere in Finland say those who said they had sex less than once per week were twice as likely to develop ED over the next five years as men who had sex at least once a week.

Compared with men who had sex three or more times per week, their ED risk was increased almost four times.

Erectile dysfunction is caused by a number of contributing factors such as age, diabetes and heart disease....many of which could also affect a man's sexually activity.

The researchers found however, even after these factors were allowed for, sexual activity itself remained linked to ED risk, and they say it may well be a case of "use it or lose it".

According to the researchers just as exercise boosts physical fitness, regular sexual activity may help a man preserve his erectile function by helping to maintain healthy blood vessel function in the erectile tissue.

Koskimaki and colleagues did not ask the men about masturbation, which they say might also have the same effect on erectile dysfunction as intercourse.

The study is published in the American Journal of Medicine, July 2008.