Caron, UMaine Clinical Geriatric Colloquium cited in BDN article on older men’s health study
The Bangor Daily News reported on a new study published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior that found sexually active older men are at significantly greater risk for developing heart attacks, high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems than their less-active male peers. Men who reported having sex with a partner once per week or more often in the first data set were almost twice as likely to have experienced cardiovascular problems, including heart attack, heart failure and stroke, in the second, according to the article. Pepper Schwartz, professor of sociology at the University of Washington and AARP’s “Love, Sex and Relationship Ambassador,” said the study’s findings appear to “go against all previous findings,” and she cautioned against accepting its conclusions prematurely. Schwartz will be the featured speaker at the University of Maine Clinical Geriatric Colloquium on Oct. 7 at Wells Conference Center, according to the article. Sandra Caron, a UMaine professor of family relations and human sexuality, said the recent study provides an invitation for students, professionals and ordinary people to have frank discussions about healthy adult sexuality throughout the lifespan. “We forget that in human events there are no ‘right’ ways, no external scripts that will make us happy,” she said. “[The goal] is to discover what we’re all about, including our changing sexuality and the best ways of expressing it.”