Takes Two to Tango: Cognitive Impairment and Sexual Activity in Older Individuals and Dyads.

Sex with a partner, a fundamentally social activity, seems to be conserved in the face of cognitive limitation but masturbation, a solitary activity, does not. We argue that the intimate dyad plays an important role in conserving partnered sexual activity. Results can inform strategies to maintain sexual well-being of older adults with cognitive impairment and their partners as part of overall strategies to improve quality of life.