How Dementia Can Affect Sexuality and Intimacy

Marriage is the result of the genuine love and happiness shared by two people. Most people aim to be with someone who accepts their flaws and shares their happiness and interests. However, as people get older, they tend to lose their sexual desire.

Aging causes reduced production of libido and drastic drop of the hormonal level, which lessens sexual urges. Fortunately, the affection, love, and the need for closeness remains. However, what happens when dementia comes into play? How can it significantly affect a patient's sexual needs?

Intimacy, sex, and dementia

According to Maree McCabe, the chief executive officer of Alzheimer’s Victoria, sex is another human rights issue for those who suffer from dementia. This matter must be discussed respectfully.

In Iowa, on the other hand, a recent court case raised severe issues with regard to the idea of sexual consent between partners when one of them has dementia. The wife has been living in a nursing home while the husband, Henry Rayhons, a former state legislator often visits her. The thing that occurred behind a privacy curtain turned into an issue debated in an intimate detail right after the husband was accused of felony sexual abuse. Ultimately, he was proven not guilty.  

In connection to that, is someone with this condition able to give their consent to any sexual relationship? At what level should nursing home staff, clinicians, and even the family be involved in this decision?

Dr. Daniel Marson, the director of the Alzheimer’s Center at the University of Alabama said that the research just shows that most older adults still retain their strong desires for sex. As it cannot be expressed the same way as it was when they were younger, it does not necessarily mean the longing to be intimate goes away.

Why do dementia patients lose their interest towards sex?

It has been documented that sexual appetite is being controlled largely by the testosterone level in both genders. Therefore, as people get older every day, their testosterone level reduces gradually. When there’s a reduction in brain cells, as it happens with dementia, the level of the testosterone is lessened even more, which causes a double whammy. Most patients who suffer this condition experience a significant reduction in the desire that they normally feel during their younger days.

On the other hand, some patients become hypersexual. What’s the main reason behind this? Approximately 7%-20% of the sufferers oftentimes develop awkward sexual behaviors. Most of them feel normal sex drives at an untimely hour or places while others suffer from hyperarousal. By that, they become fixated right on the act and cannot be redirected. They simply try to get their partners in a lovemaking scene constantly. Why does it occur?

First and foremost, it could be due to the disintegration of one’s frontal lobe that takes away embarrassment. In addition to that, lesions, which develop within the pleasure area of the brain, could make a hypersexual state. For some instances, antidepressant medication does contribute as well to hypersexuality.