Diabetes May Be Interfering with Your Sex Life, Study Shows

Being diabetic means making adjustments to your diet, but did you know that it also affects your satisfaction in bed? Research funded by the US government and published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology has found that middle-aged and older women who are diabetic tend to rate their satisfaction with their sex lives lower than women of the same age who are not combating this disease, Reuters.com reports.

Upon surveying over 2,000 California women between the ages of 40 and 80, researchers found that, even after accounting for factors like age, relationship status, weight, and more, there was a marked contrast in the sexual satisfaction levels of women with diabetes and without it. About a fifth of the women surveyed who did not have diabetes reported sexual dissatisfaction, while over a third of the diabetics receiving insulin treatment reported that they were either “moderately” or “very” dissatisfied with their sex lives. For diabetic women who were not on insulin treatment, around a fourth reported sexual dissatisfaction.

"It's not that diabetic women are not interested in sexual activity," lead researcher Dr. Alison Huang of the University of California, San Francisco, is quoted as saying on Reuters.com. "The diabetic women in the study had more sexual problems, but they were just as interested in sexual activities and had a similar level of sexual activity as women without diabetes."

One reason for this disparity could be complications related to diabetes and side effects of treatment. The researchers found, for example, that diabetics on insulin reported more problems with lubrication and achieving orgasms than non-diabetics did. And complications like heart and kidney disease could lead to less frequent sex, and so might nerve damage caused by high blood sugar levels. Dr. Huang also suggests that just having to live with a chronic disease may take its toll.

If you’ve got diabetes and are worried about having it affect your sex life, Dr. Huang advises following a diabetic diet and exercising regularly to help prevent complications and, by extension, prevent issues in the bedroom.

Regardless of whether or not you're diabetic, though, you may still suffer sexual dissatisfaction if you and your partner do not put in the effort to keep things fresh and exciting. And with a little determination, a lot of foreplay, and perhaps a bit of help from lubricants and the like, you may just overcome any hindrances diabetes or any other potential sex buster may bring to your bedroom.


(Photo by Carlos Solana Contreras via Flickr Creative Commons; used for illustrative purposes only)