In a new study, researchers found that women in their 60s report various reasons behind why they lack libido.
They found menopause isn’t the only reason for low libido in these women.
The research was conducted by a team at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Up to 40% of women over age 60 have low libido, and about 10% of them report feeling bothered by it.
To understand what’s causing these women to have a lower libido than they’d like, the team conducted three 12-woman focus groups and interviewed 15 other women privately, depending on which setting the participant preferred.
They distilled interviews with the women about their lack of desire for sex into several major themes — including sexual dysfunction in their partners.
Through these conversations, five major themes emerged:
Postmenopausal vaginal symptoms.
Erectile dysfunction in partner.
Fatigue or bodily pain.
Life stressors.
Body image.
The most surprising thread was that so many women identified sexual dysfunction in their male partners as a major contributor to their own lack of desire for sex.
Some women find workarounds, but others get stonewalled by their partner because he feels defensive.
The team says because women are encouraged to be accommodating, they learn to tamp down their own needs and desires, and prioritize those of others.
Another revelation was that for some women, despite having retired from their jobs and successfully ejected their adult children from their houses, they were still too stressed to view sex as a priority.
For instance, one woman bemoaned the emotional burden of caring for her ailing mother while simultaneously supporting her daughter through recovery from a substance use disorder.
The team says since most of the research on low libido in older women has focused on hormones, hearing detailed accounts from the women themselves produces novel ideas that may not come out of a large survey.
The lead author of the study is Holly Thomas, M.D., M.S., assistant professor of medicine at Pitt.
The study is published in Menopause.
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