Omojola, OA;
Osborne, CA;
Bountogo, M;
Inghels, M;
Harling, G;
Sie, A;
Palmer, DG;
... Hirschhorn, LR; + view all
(2025)
A Cross-Sectional Study of Sexual Health and Well-Being in Married or Cohabitating Middle-Aged and Older Adults in Nouna, Burkina Faso.
Archives of Sexual Behavior
10.1007/s10508-025-03223-1.
(In press).
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Abstract
Sexual health and well-being is important for middle-aged and older adults, but knowledge is limited on prevalence and determinants in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. We analyzed cross-sectional data collected in 2021 from married or cohabitating adults age ≥ 40 in Nouna, Burkina Faso. Sexual health and well-being were measured using the Sexual Relationships and Activities Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic models were used to describe the dimensions of sexual health and well-being—including levels of sexual activity, sexual function, and sexual health concerns—and their associations with age, sex, and education. Among 2336 individuals (56.8% men; mean age 53.2 years) almost all reported having a sexual partner (96.0% men, 93.2% women) in the last year. Men reported more frequent sexual thoughts (71.8% versus 51.2%) and sexual activity (69.4% versus 46.4%, both p < 0.001) than women. Being a woman was associated with lower sexual activity (aOR = 0.57) and intercourse frequency (aOR = 0.37, both p < 0.001). Older age was associated with reduced sexual thoughts and intercourse (both aOR = 0.93, p < 0.001), greater erectile difficulties in men (aOR = 1.06, p < 0.001), and arousal difficulties in women (aOR = 1.07, p < .001). Higher education was associated with more frequent sexual thoughts (aOR = 1.50, p < 0.001), and intercourse (aOR = 1.41, p = 0.012). Married and co-habitating middle-aged and older respondents in Nouna reported high rates of sexual activity, with variability in other areas of sexual health and well-being, identifying areas where more research and interventions are needed.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | A Cross-Sectional Study of Sexual Health and Well-Being in Married or Cohabitating Middle-Aged and Older Adults in Nouna, Burkina Faso |
| Location: | United States |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10508-025-03223-1 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03223-1 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Keywords: | Sexual activity; Sexual function; Sexual behavior; Middle aged and older adults; Burkina Faso |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute for Global Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10215557 |
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