Influence of cognitive decline on sexuality in individuals with dementia and their caregivers.

Sexuality is an important element of human life that is strongly influenced by the social environment. People assess themselves and relate their roles to one another in terms of sexuality. More attention must be directed at the sexual needs of individuals with dementia and their caregivers. A myth believed by society is that individuals with dementia are asexual and that sexual desires and needs for connection will wane over time; whereas in reality many couples living with dementia remain sexually active as the disease progresses. The sexual needs of individuals with dementia are similar to those of younger people but might vary in occurrence and expression. An increase or decline in sexual desire is dependent on the level of cognitive impairment. Sexuality in individuals with dementia may be expressed as inappropriate or hypersexual behavior due to disinhibition and forgetting social cues. Although hypersexuality is often less common than other challenging behaviors that can occur in dementia, it affects both the health of the individual with dementia and the health of his or her caregiver.