Not being horny enough can lead to an early death, according to new study

But it turns out that having a low libido could lead you to an early grave, according to a new scientific study. 

Researchers from Yamagata University in Japan studied more than 20,000 people – 8,558 males and 12,411 females aged under 40 – for more than 10 years to explore the link between sex drive and death. 

They concluded that men with low libido are almost twice (1.82 times) as likely to die early, from a range of issues, such as heart cardiovascular and cancer.

Seven years after the study began, researchers checked in with participants. They found that 162 had died from cancer, and concluded that cancer deaths were significantly higher among men who lacked sexual interest. 

This was the case even when researchers adjusted for age, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking, alcohol consumption, BMI, education, marital status – even how much they laughed, or their level of psychological distress. 

What causes low libido? 

If this study has you worrying about how much you desire sex, there are some common causes that could be to blame. 

According to the NHS, there are a lot of factors that can affect our libido:

• relationship problems
• stress, anxiety or depression
• erectile dysfunction or vaginal dryness
• hormone level changes from pregnancy or giving birth
• taking certain medicines, such as medicine for high blood pressure, antidepressants or hormonal contraception
• drinking a lot of alcohol
• Longer-term conditions like heart disease, diabetes, an underactive thyroid or cancer can also play a part. 

Remember there’s no such thing as a ‘normal’ sex drive, and many people will experience low libido at some point in their life. 

If you are worried, though, you can talk to your GP. It’s also worth telling your doctor if you think the medicine or contraception you take is affecting it, or if your sex drive doesn’t return to normal after pregnancy. 

We don’t know for certain what the root causes of low sexual desire are, which can make it hard to pinpoint the reasons. 

However, don’t lose faith – there’s loads of things you can try to boost your sex drive. 

Your GP should be able to offer relationship counselling, CBT, medicines to help with erectile dysfunction or Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for people going through menopause. 

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