NEW STUDY SHOWS WOMEN DON’T LOSE INTEREST IN SEX AT MIDLIFE

It's a myth that women lose interest in sex as they enter midlife and beyond, according to new research that followed over 3,200 women for approximately 15 years, Sandee LaMotte reported for CNN.

"About a quarter of women rate sex as very important, regardless of their age," said Dr. Holly Thomas, lead author of an abstract being presented during the 2020 virtual annual meeting of The North American Menopause Society, which opens on Monday, September 28.

"The study showed substantial numbers of women still highly value sex, even as they get older, and it's not abnormal," said Thomas, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. "If women are able to speak up with their partner and make sure that they're having sex that's fulfilling and pleasurable to them, then they're more likely to rate it as highly important as they get older."

The research, which analyzed data from a national multi-site study called SWAN, or the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, found three distinct pathways in a woman's feelings about the importance of sex. About a fourth of the women (28%) followed traditional thinking on the subject: They valued sex less during midlife years. However, another fourth of the women in the study said the exact opposite. Some 27% of them said sex remains highly important throughout their 40s, 50s and 60s -- a surprising contradiction of the old-age belief that all women lose interest in sex as they age. The majority of women (48%) fell into a third pathway: They valued a healthy sex life as they entered the menopausal years but gradually lost interest throughout their 50s or 60s.

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