Sexual Health

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• No links available

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Men
• Women
• Older Adults
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Sexuality is a big part of being human. Love, affection and sexual intimacy all play a role in healthy relationships. They also contribute to your sense of well-being. A number of disorders can affect the ability to have or enjoy sex in both men and women.

Factors that can affect sexual health include:

• Fear of unplanned pregnancy
• Concerns about infertility
• Sexually transmitted diseases
• Chronic diseases such as cancer or heart disease
• Medicines that affect sexual desire or performance

Start Here

• Sexual Health (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Sexual Health (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Estrogen Levels Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Testosterone Levels Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Answers to Your Questions about Transgender People, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression (American Psychological Association) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Answers to Your Questions for a Better Understanding of Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality (American Psychological Association) - PDF Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Compulsive Sexual Behavior (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Infidelity: Mending Your Marriage after an Affair (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Sex Headaches (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• Do Social Ties Affect Our Health? Exploring the Biology of Relationships (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Exploring the wider societal impacts of sexual health issues and interventions...
• Article: Dimensions of Sexual Health Conversations among U.S. Black Heterosexual Couples.
• Article: An Advanced, Risk-Driven Sexual Health Curriculum for First-Year Internal Medicine Residents.
• Sexual Health -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Female Reproductive System (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Male Reproductive System (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

• American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

Children

• Answering Questions about Sex (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Masturbation (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• Teaching Kids about Their Bodies (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Teen Sexual Health: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Men

• Erectile Dysfunction: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Sexual Problems in Men: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Women

• Sexual Problems in Women: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Older Adults

• Sexual Health (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging)
• Sexuality and Intimacy in Older Adults (National Institute on Aging) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Heart disease and intimacy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish