Researchers from Vienna postulate a connection between regular sex and the risk of premature death. This was the result of a recent study over an investigation period of ten years.
Lots of sex could prolong life
Sport not only keeps you young, but is also beneficial to your health. In particular, the risk of cardiovascular disease is reduced by regular physical activity.
Mattress sports, as sex is colloquially known, could also have this effect as well as a lower risk of cancer. Researchers from the Department of Urology at the Medical University of Vienna, led by urologist Shahrokh Shariat, came to this conclusion in a recent study.
Over a period of about ten years, 15,269 adults from the USA were examined. The average age of the subjects was about 39 years. Of those aged 20 to 59, 72 percent had sex 12 times or more a year (equivalent to once a month), and 36 percent became intimate 52 times or more a year (equivalent to once a week).
Reliable data on mortality risk, usable in subsequent analysis, were obtained from 12,598 study participants. 228 deaths occurred during the study period, of which 29 were due to cardiovascular disease (hypertension, stroke, heart attack, etc.) and 69 to cancer.
The researchers found that subjects who enjoyed weekly erotic togetherness were 49 percent less likely to die prematurely than those who had sex only once a year or less. Specifically, the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease was 21 percent lower among the more sexually active group, that of dying from cancer 69 percent lower and that of dying from other causes 48 percent lower.
So not only does mattress exercise provide pleasure, it could literally have life-prolonging effects. Perhaps for many who read the study results, the most beautiful secondary thing in the world will soon become a main thing.
Study results to be taken with a grain of salt
The study states, “Clear strengths of the present study are the representative sample of noninstitutional segments of the U.S. population and the determination of precise estimates in relation to sexual activity and mortality.” And further, “Because of the observational nature of the study design, however, causality could not be determined.”
Thus, the researchers caveat that there is not necessarily a relationship between frequency of sexual intercourse and mortality risk. For example, the premature death of a person who has little sex could also be due to pneumonia. Or a person who has sex regularly could still die prematurely.
Nevertheless, the study is not superfluous for a particular reason: namely, it at least points to the possibility that the frequency of sexual activity and mortality risk could be causally related, and thus provides a good basis for further research.