A Swiss Longitudinal Study of the Prevalence of, and Overlap Between, Sexual Problems in Men and Women Aged 20 to 50 Years Old

Abstract

The aim of this study was to obtain data on the development and course of sexual problems and their interrelationships by investigating a representative sample of men and women over a period of 30 years. A representative sample of 299 women selected from the complete electoral register and 292 men selected from screening lists for military service in Zurich, Switzerland, answered questions about their sexuality as part of a series of seven interviews between ages 20 (1979) and 50 (2008). Of the initial sample of 591 participants, 43% (57% of them male) were lost to follow-up. Interviews were conducted using the Structured Psychopathological Interview and Rating of the Social Consequences of Psychological Disturbances for Epidemiology (SPIKE), a semistructured interview. Sexual problems were identified on the basis of the study participants' self-appraisal. One-year prevalence rates, lifetime risks, and overlap of functional, emotional, and sexual desire problems in men and women were evaluated. The findings confirmed higher lifetime risks in women than in men for any sexual problem (females 67.0%; males 46.0%) and for functional (39.3%; 22.1%), emotional (35.7%; 15.9%), and sexual desire problems (51.6%; 33.3%). While in general men's sexual problems increased with age, no such association was observed in women. The overlap of all three problems (functional, emotional, and sexual desire) was reported by 16.9% of women but only 5.0% of men. Although there are commonalities, the type but also the development and, in particular, the overlap of sexual problems in women and men are markedly different.

Rural and Remote Psychiatry

“…Psychiatric constructs and incidence rates vary by culture and region, but worldwide the global disease burden of mental illness is a "distant first" in terms of disability-adjusted life years and represents 32.4% of the burden of years lived with disability according to several analyses (Vigo et al 2016). The prospective Zurich cohort study found that the chance to experience any mental disorder from ages 20 to 50 was 73.9% (Angst et al 2015). Of these mental disorders, it is generally accepted that approximately 30% will be substance use disorders, 15% anxiety disorders, 10% depression or mood disorders, 5% attentional/executive function disorders, 2% bipolar depression, and 1% schizophrenia.…”

When insecurity dampens desire: Attachment anxiety in men amplifies the decline in sexual desire during the early years of romantic relationships

“…The few studies that have examined changes in sexual desire are diary studies focusing on daily fluctuations (e.g., Muise, Impett, Kogan, & Desmarais, 2013), cross-sectional studies (e.g., Sprecher & Regan, 1998), or studies that focused on sexual dysfunctions (e.g., Angst, Hengartner, R€ ossler, Ajdacic-Gross, & Leeners, 2015) or desire at middle age (e.g., H€ allstr€ om & Samuelsson, 1990). Other studies looked at constructs related to sexual desire (i.e., sexual frequency and sexual satisfaction; McNulty, Wenner, & Fisher, 2016), but did not directly consider factors that moderate the trajectory of desire over relationship development.…”