We hear a lot about sex issues at menopause, but exactly how many people are affected? The Red Hot Mamas recently teamed up with Duramed Pharmaceuticals and Harris Interactive to conduct an online survey about sex and menopause. The goal was to assess women’s knowledge of and experience with menopausal symptoms and how they affect their sex lives. The results were intriguing.
According to the survey, over half of the menopausal women in the U.S. experience symptoms that disrupt their sex life. Of the 81% of women with menopausal annoyances, more than half of them (59%) reported suffering from vaginal symptoms including urinary tract infections, vaginal atrophy (vaginal narrowing or shrinkage), pain during active sex and vaginal dryness.
The women experiencing vaginal symptoms generally had less sex and a diminished sex drive due to physical discomfort. Eighty-eight percent of women experiencing vaginal atrophy said it was causing them problems and 46% admitted to avoiding, making excuses or stopping sex altogether because of physical discomfort during intercourse.