女性绝经期对性生活影响轻微
Women`s Sex Lives Still Good in the Menopausal Years
NEW YORK, Oct 05 (Reuters Health) - Although many women are warned that menopause may have an impact on their sex life, a new report suggests that menopause, per se, has less impact on sex than conventional wisdom would seem to suggest.
The report found that "menopausal status was related to some aspects of sexual functioning, but not others," according to Dr. Nancy E. Avis, of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Overall, menopause was less important than health, marital status, mental health, or smoking when it came to a woman's sexual function, she told Reuters Health.
Avis and her colleagues analyzed data from about 200 women participating in a Massachusetts women's health study, all of whom had a current sexual partner. The investigators found that "women were generally satisfied with their sexual relationship," and generally had sex an average of just over once a week. The report is published in the September/October issue of Menopause: The Journal of The North American Menopause Society.
Sexual satisfaction levels were higher in those women who judged their health status as "better than most women their age." Lower estrogen levels were related to pain either during or after intercourse, but did not have an impact on sexual drive or interest.
Avis pointed out that "the most common misconception is that menopause is a major life crisis." Relatively few women "may experience severe symptoms which may impact sleep, mood, and/or sexual functioning," said Avis, who conducted the study while at the New England Research Institute in Watertown, Massachusetts. "It's important to understand that this is really the minority of women."
Though the current findings are heartening, there is much left to learn. In particular, some studies need to focus on the men in women's lives, Avis noted. Women who are going through menopause may have male partners that are experiencing a decline in sexual function, which could be a "major factor" in a woman's sex life, she explained.
"We need to better understand how this impacts women's sexual functioning," she said.
Most women in the study were newly menopausal and a more complete picture of postmenopausal sexual functioning could be gained from a study "among women who are 5 or 10 years postmenopausal," Avis added., http://www.100md.com(Penny Stern, MD )
NEW YORK, Oct 05 (Reuters Health) - Although many women are warned that menopause may have an impact on their sex life, a new report suggests that menopause, per se, has less impact on sex than conventional wisdom would seem to suggest.
The report found that "menopausal status was related to some aspects of sexual functioning, but not others," according to Dr. Nancy E. Avis, of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Overall, menopause was less important than health, marital status, mental health, or smoking when it came to a woman's sexual function, she told Reuters Health.
Avis and her colleagues analyzed data from about 200 women participating in a Massachusetts women's health study, all of whom had a current sexual partner. The investigators found that "women were generally satisfied with their sexual relationship," and generally had sex an average of just over once a week. The report is published in the September/October issue of Menopause: The Journal of The North American Menopause Society.
Sexual satisfaction levels were higher in those women who judged their health status as "better than most women their age." Lower estrogen levels were related to pain either during or after intercourse, but did not have an impact on sexual drive or interest.
Avis pointed out that "the most common misconception is that menopause is a major life crisis." Relatively few women "may experience severe symptoms which may impact sleep, mood, and/or sexual functioning," said Avis, who conducted the study while at the New England Research Institute in Watertown, Massachusetts. "It's important to understand that this is really the minority of women."
Though the current findings are heartening, there is much left to learn. In particular, some studies need to focus on the men in women's lives, Avis noted. Women who are going through menopause may have male partners that are experiencing a decline in sexual function, which could be a "major factor" in a woman's sex life, she explained.
"We need to better understand how this impacts women's sexual functioning," she said.
Most women in the study were newly menopausal and a more complete picture of postmenopausal sexual functioning could be gained from a study "among women who are 5 or 10 years postmenopausal," Avis added., http://www.100md.com(Penny Stern, MD )