30% men and 17% women admit having had extra marital sex

CHENNAI: Age is just a number, at least when it comes to sex. And now, there is data to prove it too.According to sexologist Dr Narayana Reddy 's latest study, 'Sexual Behaviour of the Ageing Population', in Chennai, men and women aged 50 to 59 have sex more than 10 times a month. About 71% men and 48% women also said they were turned on by exposure to explicit sexual material."People tend to think that once you cross 50 you become asexual but that it not true. I decided to do the study as I wanted to tell people that age has got nothing to do with sexual functioning, only the pace slows down," says Dr Reddy, who did the study from 2005 to 2015, interviewing people aged 50 to 91. The study covered 2071 individuals - 72.91% males and 27.09% females, all from Chennai though from different linguistic groups."Since all the interviews were done face-to-face, the sample population is small," says Dr Reddy, who recently presented his findings at a conference hosted at the Indian Psychiatric Society .It's important to address the sexual needs and behaviour of the elderly in India, believes Dr Reddy. "With increasing lifespan and better healthcare, more elderly people are healthy and sexually active," he says.The life expectancy of Indians was 40 for men and 38 for women in 1950. In 2018, according to WHO, it rose to 67.4 for men and 70.3 for women. As per the 2011 Population Census, there are 51 million men and 53 million women who are aged 60 and above in India.The study also throws light on the sexual behavioural pattern among the elderly. For instance, 22.65% husbands and 24.06% wives said they had initiated sex. More than 68% men and 87% women said their spouses actively participated in sex. "In the initial days of marriage, especially if it is an arranged one, the woman may be shy and not very responsive as she doesn't know her husband. But once she has lived with him for years, she loses her inhibition and participates actively."In men, the main reasons for reduced or lack of coital frequency were erectile dysfunction (29.47%), followed by associated illnesses (16.63%), and lack of privacy (12.59%). In women, the reasons for it was sexual problems of the husband (23.52%), followed by associated illnesses (18.89%) and lack of partner (18.18%).Interestingly, 29.87% men and 16.76% women admitted to having had extra marital sex. And, 45.01% men said it was due to a lack of privacy, while 23.95% said it was due to nonavailability of wife. About 4% women said they had affairs to get even while 6.38% did it for sexual satisfaction.“The sexual needs of the elderly are often not taken into consideration. Children should also understand that their parents are not asexual,” says Dr Reddy. “In our society, once the daughter is of marriageable age, usually the parents don’t even sleep in the same room. And once grandchildren arrive, the grandparents are separated as they are roped in for babysitting. Situations like these are now being shown in movies such as the Amitabh Bachan-Hema Malini starrer ‘Bhagban’.”Ageing does have an impact on the way the body responds. “As you age, your body responds slowly and it may take longer to get aroused. But elderly people who approach me for help often don’t understand that,” says Dr Reddy. The study shows that geriatric sexual problems in men include erectile dysfunction (41.52%), decreased libido (12.38%), and dyspareunia or painful sexual intercourse (10.53%). In women, it includes orgasmic dysfunction (34.76%), reduced/ lack of desire (16.22%) and dyspareunia (11.05%).However, these problems can be addressed. “Management of geriatric sexuality can be done through periodic medical check-ups, attention to physical illness, treatment of associated illness, hormone replacement therapy, pharmaco therapy, and surgical management,” says Dr Reddy. “You also need to change negative attitudes, have sex, marital counselling, and/ or family counselling, supportive psychotherapy, and sex therapy.”