In the study held by a researcher Srikanta Banerjee at Walden University, 14,542 adults were asked a question: “How many times have you had any kind of sex with a partner in the past 12 months?” About 38% of respondents said they had sex an average of once a week or more.
Even after adjusting for education, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, women who said they had sex less than 52 times a year were three times more likely to die from any cause over the five-year study period. No such correlation was found in men.
Sexual activity was especially important for both men and women with poor mental health. Participants with depression who had sex less than 52 times a year were nearly 200% more likely to die than those without depression. And those who had sex more than 52 times a year were 75% more likely to die.
The conclusions build on another recent study that found a similar association using different years of the NHANES study. However, that analysis combined men and women and did not account for the exacerbating effects of depression. Depression itself is associated with an increased risk of premature death, and women are twice as likely to suffer from it as men.
Previous research has shown that sex is good for mental and physical health improving cardiovascular health, reducing stress, increasing happiness and well-being, and maintaining brain health. Even solitary sexual behaviors like masturbation have documented health benefits, including reduced stress, improved sleep, and elevated mood.
Photos are from open sources.
