| NEWS RELEASE: | |
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UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI STUDY INDICATES THAT PHYSICAL ACTIVITY MAY IMPROVE SEXUAL FUNCTIONING AFTER PROSTATE CANCER SURGERY | |
| Contact: Frank J. Penedo, Ph.D. Phone: (305) 284-6711 Email: fpenedo@miami.edu Embargoed until: March 5, 2004 |
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Orlando, Florida - Most men experience a dramatic reduction in their ability to function sexually after receiving a radical prostatectomy. Yet some preliminary findings suggest that their sexual abilities may improve by getting up and around. "Physical activity may be an important part of rehabilitating sexuality after the physical trauma of treatment," reports Frank J. Penedo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at the University of Miami, Behavioral Medicine Research Center. Results of the study were presented for the first time at the 62nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society, held March 3-6 in Orlando, Florida. "We know that physical activity helps to maintain men's sexual functioning as the body grows older. However, we know much less about the impact of physical activity after men undergo surgery for prostate cancer." The study set out to evaluate the influence of physical activity on sexual functioning which was measured at baseline and then approximately nine months later. The research involved 54 men who had received surgical treatment an average of eight months ago. Sexual functioning at the nine month follow-up assessment was related to age, medical illness, and ethnicity. Older men and those men with more medical illness had lower sexual functioning scores at follow-up, and African-American men had lower sexual functioning scores than Hispanic men. Yet after taking these relationships into consideration and controlling for their influence, baseline physical activity remained a significant predictor of sexual functioning nine months later. "The findings indicate that above and beyond the factors which we might anticipate being associated with sexual functioning, like age, medical illness and baseline sexual functioning, physical activity seems contribute something important," said Dr. Penedo. While preliminary, the results suggest that the sexual experience of prostate cancer survivors may be enhanced by initiating or maintaining an active lifestyle after surgical treatment. | |
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Psychosomatic Medicine is the official peer-reviewed journal of the American Psychosomatic Society, published bimonthly. For information about the journal, contact Vicki White, Managing Editor for Manuscript Production,
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