| Title |
Sexual Activity and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Archives of Sexual Behavior, May 2018
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s10508-018-1193-8 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Mark S. Allen |
| Abstract |
This prospective study tested whether sexual activity and emotional closeness during partnered sexual activity relate to cognitive decline (episodic memory performance) in older adulthood. In total, 6016 adults aged 50 and over (2672 men, 3344 women; M age = 66.0 ± 8.8 years) completed an episodic memory task and self-report questions related to health, sexual activity, and emotional closeness. Two years later, participants again completed the episodic memory task. After controlling for demographic and health-related lifestyle factors, more frequent sexual activity and greater emotional closeness during partnered sexual activity were associated with better memory performance. The association between sexual activity and memory performance was stronger among older participants in the sample. Memory performance worsened over 2 years, but change in memory performance was unrelated to sexual activity or emotional closeness during partnered sexual activity. These findings build on experimental research that has found sexual activity enhances episodic memory in non-human animals. Further research using longer timeframes and alternative measures of cognitive decline is recommended. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 50 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 12 | 24% |
| Chile | 9 | 18% |
| Netherlands | 2 | 4% |
| Turkey | 1 | 2% |
| Italy | 1 | 2% |
| Canada | 1 | 2% |
| Colombia | 1 | 2% |
| Czechia | 1 | 2% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 2% |
| Other | 0 | 0% |
| Unknown | 21 | 42% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 42 | 84% |
| Scientists | 4 | 8% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 2 | 4% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 2 | 4% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 42 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 42 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Doctoral Student | 5 | 12% |
| Student > Bachelor | 5 | 12% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 5 | 12% |
| Professor | 3 | 7% |
| Researcher | 3 | 7% |
| Other | 4 | 10% |
| Unknown | 17 | 40% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 8 | 19% |
| Neuroscience | 4 | 10% |
| Social Sciences | 3 | 7% |
| Sports and Recreations | 2 | 5% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 1 | 2% |
| Other | 5 | 12% |
| Unknown | 19 | 45% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 402. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 21 March 2024.
All research outputs
#75,894
of 25,738,558 outputs
Outputs from Archives of Sexual Behavior
#52
of 3,777 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#1,726
of 343,122 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Archives of Sexual Behavior
#1
of 47 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,738,558 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 99th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,777 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 33.8. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 98% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 343,122 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 47 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 97% of its contemporaries.