The Role of Sexual Function in Quality of Life Among Midlife and Older Women: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation.
J Womens Health (Larchmt)
; 33(4): 426-434, 2024 Apr.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38330428
ABSTRACT
Objective:
To examine how (1) partnered sexual activity, and (2) sexual functioning, contribute to global quality of life (QOL) and health-related quality of life (HRQL) among midlife and older women, and whether importance of sex modifies these associations. Materials andMethods:
Women in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), a multiethnic/racial cohort study, aged 42-52 at recruitment, were followed for â¼20 years. The Ladder of Life and Short Form-36 physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) assessed Global QOL (N = 3,263) and HRQL (N = 2,576), respectively. Primary predictors were (1) having partnered sexual activity (yes/no), and (2) sexual functioning among those with partnered sexual activity. Sociodemographic, health, lifestyle, and psychosocial covariates were included.Results:
Importance of sex modified covariate-adjusted association of having partnered sexual activity with global QOL. Adjusted associations of partnered sexual activity with PCS and MCS were not statistically significant. Sexual functioning, among women with partnered sexual activity, was positively associated with global QOL (adjusted p = 0.03), regardless of importance of sex; unrelated to PCS; but positively associated with MCS (adjusted p = 0.03), particularly when sex was "very/quite important."Conclusions:
Partnered sexual activity and better sexual functioning are related to QOL for mid-aged and older women, and are stronger when sex is considered important. Partnered sexual activity and sexual functioning are less consistently related to HRQL when adjusted for covariates, and importance modifies only the association between sexual functioning and MCS. Understanding the importance of sex to midlife and older women contextualizes the impact of sex on QOL.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Quality of Life
/
Sexual Behavior
/
Sexual Partners
/
Women's Health
Type of study:
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Aspects:
Patient_preference
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
America do norte
Language:
En
Journal:
J Womens Health (Larchmt)
/
J. womens health (Larchmt.)
/
Journal of women's health (Larchmont)
Journal subject:
GINECOLOGIA
/
SAUDE DA MULHER
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Country of publication: