How much sex you have is linked to mortality risk, scientists discover

Sex is good for your health, as shown by a new study that analysed the lifestyles of more than 14,500 women.

In fact, it found that the amount of sex people have is linked to their risk of mortality, with women who regularly have sex found to live longer.

The new study was led by Walden University public health scientist Srikanta Banerjee in the US, with women between the ages of 20 and 59 taking part in research as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

The results are pretty staggering, too.

The women in the study were asked: "In the past 12 months, about how many times have you had vaginal or anal sex?"

Around 38 per cent of the women who took part said they had sex on average once a week or more.

The research showed that women who claimed to have sex less than 52 times a year were three times more likely to die over the course of the study, which took place over a five year period.

This association was not found in male participants of the study.

The authors of the study, published in the Journal of Psychosexual Health, wrote: "There is mounting interest in understanding how precisely sexual health affects overall health," write the study's authors.

"Although the connections between physical health, social determinants of health, mental health, and poor health are well known, there is a paucity of research regarding the connection between sexual health and long-term mortality outcomes."

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