The sexual functioning of elderly hypertensive women.

To assess the sexual interest and behavior of a large cohort of 60-80-year-old women with mild to moderate hypertension, data from a large multicenter study were analyzed. Of the 142 hypertensive women with partners, 87 (61%) were sexually active and 55 (39%) were sexually abstinent. The sexually active women were somewhat younger, had higher household incomes, and reported higher ratings of subjective sexual interest than did the abstinent women. For sexually abstinent women, two major factor appeared to determine the level of sexual activity: their partner's level of sexual desire and his health. Of particular note is the finding that the majority of women in both groups indicated moderate or high satisfaction with their sexual life. When the sample was divided into "younger" elderly (age 69 or below) and "older" elderly (70 or above), the percentage of women displaying moderate or high sexual interest was quite similar (76% and 65%, respectively). Difficulty achieving orgasm and lack of vaginal lubrication were the two most common sexual complaints. Scores on quality of life measures did not differ significantly between the sexual abstinent and active women at baseline.