Sexual Needs and Sexual Health in the Elderly Population in Eastern China: Findings From a Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Objective: To investigate the sexual activity of older adults, to understand their knowledge attitude and practice(KAP) regarding sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and to perform correlation analyses of STD symptoms in this population. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 585 subjects from counties in eastern China. Data was collected from unified questionnaires; descriptive statistics were used for demographic characteristics and sexual activity, which used student t test, to compare the different groups, and multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify the dependence of influential factors. Results: 24.62% of participants were reported as sexually active. The subjects still work and the main income from personal salary was higher than other individuals . Furthermore, when participants monthly income or expenses was more than 1000 RMB, they seemed to have a higher sexual activity. Gender and monthly income were dependent on influential factors related to sexual activity. 54.7% showed good awareness of STD, but only 7.96% of them consistently and correctly used condoms; moreover, 21.03% report to have previously suffered from any STD symptoms. Sexual behavior, use of condoms and commercial sexual behavior were dependent on influential factors of sexual activity. Conclusions: Sexual needs and sexual health of older adults should not be neglected, effective strategies should be drafted for such population.