When sex never happens – new research maps adults without sexual experience
Researchers from Karolinska Institutet, the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (Germany), Amsterdam UMC (Netherlands), in collaboration with other international partners, have conducted the most extensive study to date on adults who have never had sexual intercourse. The findings, published in PNAS, suggest that lifelong sexlessness is associated with a multifaceted interplay of psychological, social, and genetic factors.
The study shows that late-life virginity is shaped by psychological, social, and genetic factors. Using data from over 400,000 individuals in the United Kingdom aged 39 to 73, the researchers found that around 1 percent reported never having had sex. The group tended to be more highly educated, drank and smoked less, but also reported greater loneliness, nervousness, and lower levels of happiness compared to those with sexual experience.
“For many, romantic and sexual relationships are key sources of emotional support,” says Dr Laura Wesseldijk, researcher at the Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, and one of the study’s lead authors. “Our findings show that the absence of such relationships is linked to increased feelings of isolation and reduced wellbeing.”
For men, physical strength and the local sex ratio mattered. Additionally, sexlessness was more common in regions with higher income inequality. Genetic analyses showed that about 15 percent of variation could be explained by thousands genetic variants with tiny effects. Further analyses also revealed that a variant linked to sexlessness has become increasingly rare over the past 12,000 years.
Late-life sexlessness
“Our study sheds new light on a topic that has received little attention so far: late-life sexlessness. The results provide a better understanding of how often it occurs, and which factors play a role“, says Laura Wesseldijk.
This can be valuable for sexologists and mental health professionals. At the same time, the study offers a unique opportunity to examine evolutionary questions, as sexlessness directly relates to the most fundamental aspect of evolution: reproductive success.
How was the study performed?
The study analysed questionnaire and genetic data from over 400,000 British people (aged 39–73) and 13,500 Australians (aged 18–89), using a range of approaches including phenotypic and geographical associations, genome-wide association studies, polygenic scores, genetic correlations, within-family analyses, and ancient DNA. This allowed the researchers to examine both social and biological factors associated with virginity across modern and historical contexts. While very large, the study still has limits: for instance, it was not possible to distinguish between voluntary and involuntary virginity.
The findings, when considered as a whole, highlight that lifelong sexlessness cannot be reduced to a single explanation. Instead, it is indicative of a complex interaction of social, psychological, and genetic influences. By mapping these factors, the study provides a foundation for future research on sexual behaviuor, health, and human evolution.
Publication
Life without sex: Large-scale study links sexlessness to physical, cognitive, and personality traits, socioecological factors, and DNA.
Abdellaoui A, Wesseldijk LW, Gordon SD, Pasman JA, Smit DJA, Androvičová R, Martin NG, Ullén F, Mosing MA, Zietsch BP, Verweij KJH
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2025 Sep;122(38):e2418257122