BMJ 1998;316:1671 ( 30 May )

Letters

Are sex and death related?

    Study failed to adjust for an important confounder
    Study did not treat sexual behaviour with the importance it deserves
    Author's reply

Study failed to adjust for an important confounder

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR---Davey Smith et al report a significant inverse relation between frequency of orgasm and mortality due to all causes and coronary heart disease in men; however, a failure to adjust for the energy expended during sexual activity may be a weakness of their work.1 The intensity level of sexual activity is equivalent to that of leisurely walking or strolling,2 and an increasing level of energy output, even when amassed during walking, is independently associated with a decreased risk of all cause mortality.3 This failure to adjust for the energy cost of sexual activity may be amplified if, as seems plausible, the more sexually active individuals have a stronger disposition to physical activity per se than their less virile counterparts.

David Batty, Researcher. 
University of Bristol, Exercise and Health Research Unit, Woodland House, Bristol BS8 2LU

  1. Davey Smith G, Frankel S, Yarnell J. Sex and death: are they related? Findings from the Caerphilly cohort study. BMJ 1997; 315: 1641-1645[Abstract/Free Full Text]. (20-27 December.)
  2. Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Leon AR, Jacobs DR, Montoye HJ, Sallis JF, et al. Compendium of physical activities: classification of energy costs of human physical activities. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1993; 25: 71-80[Medline].
  3. Hakim AA, Petrovitch H, Burchfiel CM, Ross GW, Rodriguez BL, White LR, et al. Effects of walking on mortality among nonsmoking retired men. N Engl J Med 1998; 338: 94-99[Abstract/Free Full Text].

Study did not treat sexual behaviour with the importance it deserves

EDITOR---The article by Davey Smith et al on sexual behaviour and mortality was a disappointment.1 The topic is important, and the results should at least be correct. . . . [Full text of this article]
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Relevant Article

Sex and death: are they related? Findings from the Caerphilly cohort study
George Davey Smith, Stephen Frankel, and John Yarnell
BMJ 1997 315: 1641-1644. [Abstract] [Full Text]

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