Do men lose their libido with age?

Libido is simply a fancy word for the desire to have sex. Contrary to popular perception, which says that men have a higher sex drive than women, a man's libido can vary throughout his life.

Some men find that they have a reduced or no desire to have sex, even though they remain physically capable of doing so - they've lost their libido.

A loss of libido is different from having a desire to have sex but finding it physically impossible to do so - known as erectile dysfunction (ED).

ED is much more common than lack of libido - it is estimated that half of all men between the ages of 40 and 70 will experience ED at least once in their life.

Men often write off a loss of libido as a normal part of ageing. While some loss of sex drive usually occurs as you age due to falling levels of male hormones, having no interest in sex is unusual and needs to be dealt with.

As well as causing problems in a man's relationship, a loss of libido can also be a sign of underlying health problems, both emotional and physical.

This article was published on Thu 24 December 2009