A new study has revealed why women who don't have enough sex are purportedly more likely to "die early."
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A recent study involving 2,267 participants in the US found that women who have sex less than once a week may have a higher likelihood of dying early compared to those who engage in sexual activity more frequently.
Researchers analyzed data from a national health survey that included 14,542 participants, although not all provided details about their sex lives.
Among the more than 2,000 people who did, 94.4% reported having intercourse at least once a month, while 38.4% stated they had sex more than once a week.
The study's authors, whose research was published in the Journal of Psychosexual Health last month, explained, "Sexual activity is important for overall cardiovascular health, possibly due to a reduction in heart rate variability and increased blood flow."
"Using findings from our study, we can infer that sexual activity, broadly defined, may ameliorate the loss of function that can occur with age and the progression of disease," the researchers noted.
Previous studies have indicated that the average adult in the US has sex 54 times a year, roughly equivalent to once a week. For this study, the 2,267 participants, aged 29-50, were divided into two groups: those who have sex more than once a week and those who have sex less frequently.
The study discovered that women with a lower sexual drive were 1.7 times more likely to die from any cause by the end of 2015 compared to their more sexually active counterparts. Additionally, a pattern emerged: the less sex a woman had, the higher her mortality risk.
While the study did not find the same correlation in men, it revealed that sexual activity had a "modifying relationship" on depression in both sexes.
Participants suffering from depression were approximately three times more likely to die during the follow-up period if they did not engage in frequent sex.
"Individuals with depression but high sexual frequency don't feel the harmful effects of depression as much," Dr. Srikanta Banerjee, the study's lead author, told DailyMail.com.
"Depression leads to increased mortality due to health outcomes. So perhaps sex is more effective because of the severity of how depression impacts females," Dr. Banerjee explained.
However, the researcher noted that "there are multiple theories" regarding the study's findings.
"For instance, sex releases endorphins that may prevent severe health outcomes," he added.
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