Healthy aging in a cross-sectional study of Australian men: what has sex got to do with it?

Figures & data

Figure 1. Frequency of sexual activity in the past month according to age group.

Table 1. Health and behavioral determinants for men according to “good health” status and age-group.

	Good health				Not good health
Age-group	40–49	50–59	60–69	70+	40–49	50–59	60–69	70+
Number of men in age-group	(n = 735)	(n = 627)	(n = 404)	(n = 235)	(n = 850)	(n = 957)	(n = 1024)	(n = 1158)
Normal BMI (20.0–24.9) (%)	41.5	36.3	38.1	47.8	26.6	22.1	30.2	42.0
Small waist circumference (%)	73.3	65.6	51.3	48.0	63.8	47.9	40.7	34.9
Smoking status – Never smoked (%)	46.4	43.5	38.9	34.9	34.0	30.4	28.0	28.5
Alcohol – Low risk (%)	86.9	84.2	83.8	76.5	80.6	78.5	77.6	72.5
Physical activity – Sufficient (%)	41.5	38.5	38.7	44.3	33.2	29.9	37.4	34.3
Living with a partner (%)	89.1	87.7	89.1	75.7	78.7	80.8	84.7	72.5
Any sexual activity in past 4 weeks (%)	96.4	90.3	83.0	43.2	90.7	82.6	64.2	30.5
Ever had children (%)	84.3	88.8	92.3	90.2	83.4	89.3	90.3	89.6
Ever had a vasectomy (%)	33.4	36.3	25.5	8.9	30.4	28.9	21.8	7.0

Table 2. Results from the multivariable logistic regression models (N = 4936).

Variable	Age-adjusted*			Fully-adjusted†
	OR	95% CI	p	OR	95% CI	p
BMI category			<0.001			<0.001
– Normal (20.0–24.9) kg/m^2	Ref			Ref
– Underweight (<20 kg/m^2)	0.53	0.35, 0.81		0.61	0.37, 1.00
– Overweight (25.0–29.9 kg/m^2)	0.73	0.65, 0.83		0.74	0.64, 0.86
– Obese (≥30 kg/m^2)	0.31	0.26, 0.37		0.40	0.31, 0.50
Waist circumference			<0.001			0.001
– Small (<94.0 cm)	Ref			Ref
– Medium (94.0–101.9 cm)	0.73	0.63, 0.84		0.84	0.71, 0.99
– Large (≥102 cm)	0.44	0.37, 0.51		0.67	0.55, 0.83
Smoking status			<0.001			<0.001
– Never smoked	Ref			Ref
– Past smoker	0.67	0.60, 0.76		0.73	0.63, 0.84
– Current smoker	0.48	0.40, 0.56		0.53	0.44, 0.64
Alcohol			<0.001			0.004
– Abstainer	Ref			Ref
– Low risk	1.44	1.21, 1.72		1.41	1.14, 1.74
– Risky/high risk	0.97	0.74, 1.27		1.20	0.88, 1.64
Physical activity			<0.001			0.002
– Sufficient	Ref			Ref
– Insufficient	0.82	0.72, 0.93		0.89	0.77, 1.02
– Sedentary	0.61	0.52, 0.71		0.72	0.61, 0.86
Living with a partner			<0.001			<0.001
– No	Ref			Ref
– Yes	1.67	1.43, 1.95		1.42	1.18, 1.72
Frequency of sexual activity in past			<0.001			<0.001
4 weeks
– Zero times	Ref			Ref
– 1 to 4 times	1.99	1.68, 2.36		1.68	1.38, 2.04
– 5 to 8 times	2.68	2.21, 3.25		2.16	1.74, 2.68
– 9 to 12 times	2.42	1.90, 3.08		2.02	1.55, 2.64
– More than 12 times	2.17	1.70, 2.77		1.97	1.50, 2.58
Ever had children			0.450
– Yes	Ref				_________
– No	0.94	0.79, 1.11
Ever had a vasectomy			<0.001			0.104
– No	Ref			Ref
– Yes	1.26	1.11, 1.43		1.13	0.98, 1.30

*Adjusted for age groups (40-49, 50–59, 60–69, 70+). Age group was strongly associated with good health in all models (p < 0.001).

†Only variables with p < 0.10 in age-adjusted models were included in fully-adjusted model and variables were adjusted for simultaneously.