Men who lack interest in s*x may have risk of early death, study says

A new study conducted among men living in Japan has found that a lack of sexual interest may be linked to an increased risk of early death.

The findings of the study were published in the journal PLOS One.

The exact relationship between mortality and libido is not certain for now. Researchers speculate a reduced sex drive could be a sign of underlying health issues.

The study involved 8,558 men as well as 12,411 women, aged 40 or older, who had annual health checkups over a six-year span in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.

Researchers from Yamagata University looked at the subjects’ levels of sexual interest based on a self-reported questionnaire initially, and a follow-up survey conducted years later. Of the original 20,969 subjects, 503 had passed away by the time of the follow-up survey.

The researchers found that men who reported a lack of sexual interest were at a higher risk for cancer mortality and all-cause mortality. It is important to note that the association held even after taking into account factors like age, education, marital status, smoking, alcohol consumption, BMI, frequency of laughter, psychological distress, as well as hypertension, and diabetes.

Since the study is purely observational, there’s no way to conclude which (if either) is the cause and which is the effect.

Interestingly, the researchers did not find any significant association between lower libido and mortality in women, compared to men. It is also worth noting that

women were more likely to report a lack of sexual interest than men. 16 percent of female participants reported in this study, compared to 8 percent of male participants.

The scientists suggest the lack of sexual interest among men could be linked to “unhealthy lifestyles.”

“Furthermore, if we assume that sexual interest is related to positive psychological factors,” they write, “the absence of interest may affect a range of inflammatory, neuroendocrine, and immune responses.”

Some important caveats in the study include the question asked to determine a person’s sexual interest. For the research, the question asked was: “Currently, do you have any interest in people of the opposite sex?”

The question excludes those attracted to someone of the same sex, the researchers acknowledge.

The study also did not take into account certain “medically relevant elements known to affect sexual function and longevity,” during the survey, such as neurological conditions or medications the subjects were taking.