Too little sex can damage health

2000-10-10 07:55

London - Men with a low sex drive could be at increased risk of developing breast cancer, according to a report published on Tuesday.

A study recounted in the British Journal of Cancer found that men who have fewer orgasms are more likely to develop the disease.

Researchers said lower testosterone levels might be linked to breast cancer. Single and childless men were also found to be at increased risk.

So too are first-born sons, according to the study - probably because women produce more oestrogen during their first pregnancy. A similarly heightened risk has been found in first-born daughters.

Breast cancer is very rare among men, with only about 250 cases diagnosed in Britain every year.

Men are often diagnosed with the disease later in life and when it is at a more advanced stage, making it more difficult to treat.

For the study, doctors in Greece compared 23 men with breast cancer with 76 healthy men, questioning them about lifestyle, sex lives and family history.

Although the study sample was relatively small, the researchers, headed by Dimitrios Trichpoulos, of Harvard University in the United States, said their findings showed that low sex drive was linked to breast cancer among men.

"The frequency of orgasms is thought to be related to testosterone, which drives men's sexual behaviour," Trichpoulos reported.

"Our work has shown for the first time that men with breast cancer tend to have a lower sex drive, indicated by frequency of orgasms."

Previous studies have suggested a link between cancer and the sex organs.

A Danish study published last month found men with infertility problems were much more likely to develop testicular cancer than fertile men. - Sapa-AFP

- SAPA