COPENHAGEN, Denmark, July 7 (UPI) -- Overweight, physical inactivity, high alcohol consumption, smoking and hard drugs are linked to sexual dysfunction in men, Danish researchers say.
Dr. Morten Frisch of Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen used nationally representative survey data from 5,552 Danish men and women ages 16-97 in 2005 to study the association of lifestyle factors with sexual inactivity and sexual dysfunction.
The study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, says a number of unhealthy lifestyle factors are associated with increased risk of not having a partner-related sex life by up to 78 percent in men and up to 91 percent in women.
Among those who had a sexual partner, the risk of experiencing sexual dysfunction was greater in men who lead unhealthy lives and more than 800 percent in men using hard drugs, the study says.
Women who used hashish had almost three times increased risk of have difficulties or inability to reach climax during sexual activity with a partner compared with non-users, Frisch adds.
"Knowing about possible negative consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle to one's sexual health may help people quit smoking, consume less alcohol, exercise more and lose weight," Frisch says in a statement.
