Home EFFECTS OF AGEING ON
SEXUAL FUNCTION IN MEN
CAUSES OF PROBLEMS
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Serum testosterone [T] is necessary for stimulating and maintaining libido, ejaculation and erections in men. Decline of T in the ageing male, known as ‘andropause’ or male menopause has been associated with: reduced libido and quality of erection, depression, listlessness, weight loss, poor appetite, poor concentration, weakness, easy fatigue and irritability [1].
The Massachusetts Male Aging Study found that 52% of males at the age of 40 had some degree of erectile dysfunction [ED]. Between ages 40-70 about 17% have minimal, 25% moderate, and 10% complete ED. The prevalence of minimal ED remains the same, while moderate ED triples between 40 and 70 years, and complete ED shows a slight increase with ageing [2]. ED is strongly associated with diabetes, vascular disease, hypertension, various medications [used for depression and hypertension in particular], alcohol abuse and smoking [3].
Men and women may be under tremendous pressure at work striving to reach the top before it is "too late" or experience financial problems, and have to contend with fatigue and stress. Involvement in work and children may have allowed couples to grow apart, they barely communicate, take one another for granted, no longer share enjoyable activities, and there is no joy in their relationship. Intellectual, social and emotional differences may have become insurmountable barriers to effective sexual contacts because they have grown so far apart and too set in their ways to adjust. When a long term relationship becomes dull and predictable both partners lose interest, and there is a tendency to withdraw from any form of intimacy. A person feels rejection, inadequate or angry if the partner does not want to be touched or fails to respond to sexual stimuli, or if his erection is partial or takes longer to develop than usual. This in turn may cause performance anxiety and result in dysfunction.
However, couples who enjoy each other's company and have had a good sexual bond over the years have a greater likelihood of continuing sexual expression as they find freedom from responsibilities of children and work and become more involved in their relationship and increase their sexual satisfaction.
