1 in 4 men aged over 85 enjoy an active sex life

ONE in four men over 85 still has an active sex life, a study reveals.

Women are also likely to continue their sex lives into old age, with nearly one in ten sexually active after they have turned 85, researchers said.

The inquiry into sex among pensioners, by the International Longevity Centre UK, suggests most men are still having sex after they pass 65, and most men of that age think about sex at least once a week.

Around one in five women also thinks of sex regularly after they reach 65, the study found. But the report said that shorter life expectancies for men could make it more difficult for older women to find a partner.

It said: ‘Nearly two-thirds of divorcees and three-quarters of widowed people over 50 are women, which leaves heterosexual women with a much smaller pool to choose a partner from.’

The findings, taken from the large- scale English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, come at a time when healthy life expectancy of both men and women is increasing fast, and against a background of a ‘silver splitter’ boom in the numbers of older couples who part.

The report said one in seven men aged over 65 thinks about sex once a day compared to only around one in 50 women of the same age. Report author Cesira Urzi Brancati said: ‘While on average, men aged over 65 think about sex and engage in sexual activity more often than their female counterparts, older women who think about sex quite often are also more likely to engage in sexual activity than men. Other studies have highlighted the role of health, as opposed to ageing, in influencing older people’s sex life.

‘And undoubtedly, healthy individuals report both a higher sexual desire and more frequent sexual activities.

‘However, even after taking the role of health into account, we find that sexual desire – that is just thinking about sex often or very often – is the strongest driver for sexual activity in later life.’ The report said the findings upheld the idea that men have a higher level of sexual desire.

It said: ‘Even though the oldest may not think about sex very often, at least one in four men and one in ten women aged over 85 had sex in the last year.’ Researchers said that they had not expected to find that sexual desire was more likely to influence the behaviour of women.

The report also found only one in 20 older people begins a new relationship after divorce or the death of a spouse. Two-thirds of divorced older people and three out of four of those widowed were women.