A Pennsylvania State University research has shown that low sexual satisfaction in middle aged men may be a warning sign of future cognitive decline, according to sources.

According to Pulse Ghana, the study followed the relationships between erectile function, sexual satisfaction and cognition in men. Researchers found that losses in sexual satisfaction and erectile performance were associated with future memory loss.

The study surveyed data from 818 males who participated in the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging. The participant’s data was assessed for a 12-year period, from age 56 to 68. The researchers studied the participants’ cognitive changes during these years. The researchers examined how people’s memory and sexual function changed together over time.

Martin Sliwinski, professor of human development and family studies at Penn State and co-author on the study said, “What was unique about our approach is that we measured memory function and sexual function at each point in the longitudinal study, so we could look at how they changed together over time, What we found connects to what scientists are beginning to understand about the link between life satisfaction and cognitive performance.”

The researchers studied the relationship between physical changes like microvascular alterations affecting penile function, and psychological changes like poorer sexual satisfaction, to see how they relate to cognition (the mental action of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses).

They also stressed on the importance of sexual satisfaction and its physical and mental impact on one’s health.