Sexual Well-Being: How it Evolves as We Age

Sexual health is an important part of healthy aging and offers a useful way to understand how well-being can change without disappearing in later life. Annie L. Nguyen, Ph.D., M.P.H., UC San Diego, explains how sexual interest, sexual activity, and sexual satisfaction follow different patterns as people age. Nguyen examines research on health status, relationship context, and gender differences, then shares findings from a UC San Diego SAGE study of adults age 60 and older. Her results show that sexual interest declines across later decades and differs by sex, while sexual satisfaction remains more stable across age groups. This work helps explain why sexual health in later life should not be reduced to a single measure and points toward more open, nonjudgmental conversations about well-being, intimacy, and aging. Series: "Stein Institute for Research on Aging" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41107]