Sex and the Older Woman

Written by HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

Find out about female sexual dysfunction among older women and the treatments that lead to active sexual lives.

Summary & Participants

Despite what many people think, older women can lead healthy and active sexual lives. But this doesn't mean it will always be easy. Our panel will discuss the challenges to an elder woman's sexual life, and how to face them.

Host:
Mark Pochapin, MD
Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York

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Participants:
David Kaufman, MD
Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons
Patricia Bloom, MD
Mount Sinai-New York University Medical Center
Dagmar O'Connor, PhD
Columbia University

Webcast Transcript

MARK POCHAPIN, MD: Hi, thank you for joining us today. Today we're going to focus on people who are considered "the elderly." However, when we think about elderly people, we often think about people who are not very active. Today, not only are we going to talk about activity, but also we're going to talk about sexual activity.

Starting with us today are a few of my guest panelists. To my left is Dr. David Kaufman, who's an assistant professor of clinical urology at Columbia University. Welcome. Sitting next to David is Dr. Patricia Bloom. She's the chief of geriatric medicine at St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital here in New York City. Welcome, Patricia. Sitting next to her is Dr. Dagmar O'Connor, who's a psychologist, a sex therapist, and really the first woman sex therapist to be trained by Masters and Johnson in New York City. Thank you all for joining us today.

Let's start off with sex and the elderly woman. When we talk about "elderly woman," what are we talking about? David, what is considered to be elderly now?

DAVID KAUFMAN, MD: I think that really has changed dramatically over the last few decades. As the Baby Boomers are getting older, it's really hard to consider somebody over the age of 55, which might have been considered a senior in the past, as elderly, because they're just really exhibiting behavior patterns that they've been exhibiting for a long time. I think that probably for the purposes of this discussion, we should really be speaking about the eighth decade of life, if my panelists agree with me there.

DAGMAR O'CONNOR, PhD: I often think that the woman feels old when she enters menopause. That's the first real sign of loss of reproductiveness and the purpose of life. That is the time when most of the trouble starts in terms of sexual functioning.

PATRICIA BLOOM, MD: So you would say any time between 45 and 55.

DAGMAR O'CONNOR, PhD: I would think so.

PATRICIA BLOOM, MD: Although technically speaking, as a geriatrician, it's over the age of 65. But I will agree with David that our, I guess as all of us approach, we like to push it.

DAVID KAUFMAN, MD: I don't like the 45 part being considered elderly.

PATRICIA BLOOM, MD: But especially talking about sexual activity, I think what is interesting is that people don't even conceive of people over the age of 80 being sexually active. But I think you would agree, surveys show that actually the majority of people over the age of 65 are still sexually active. And even when you get into the 80 and above, still about a quarter to a third of elderly, even women and men, have sexual activity. And that's something that people generally don't think about or wouldn't believe is true.

MARK POCHAPIN, MD: Right. It's actually, certainly not a topic that you hear much about. It's not a focus in either medical schools or in curriculum, and it's something that seems to be appropriate, given the fact that there are plenty of people who are sexually active who are considered elderly.

DAGMAR O'CONNOR, PhD: I treat quite a few couples who are in their eighties, and it's a surprise. They would never dare to tell their grandchildren or their children that they could sneak away and see a sex therapist.

MARK POCHAPIN, MD: Let's start with the physical changes. Obviously as someone gets older, there are physical changes that occur in their body. David, what is occurring in a woman from a medical perspective that might make sexual activity different?

DAVID KAUFMAN, MD: I think what comes to mind first is, along with menopause and the changes that accompany menopause, there's a decrease in the ability of women to lubricate as they get older, and that certainly impacts on their ability to enjoy sex, and perhaps participate in sex because of their lack of enjoyment.

There are also medical conditions that occur, such as atrophic vaginitis, which occurs as women get older, where the tissue itself becomes less elastic and the vaginal opening becomes smaller, and that also interferes with a person's ability to participate in sex, and certainly enjoy sex. Now, all of these problems have medical solutions to them, and I'm sure Dr. Bloom takes care of these conditions on a regular basis.

MARK POCHAPIN, MD: Now, what do you do? Do you actually address these problems with the patient, or do they actually tell you about them?