Stress in Chinese cities ruining sex lives

Stress in China's cities is taking a toll on residents' sex lives, with 30 percent of middle-aged couples having no intimate relations, according to a survey published in the state-run press on Monday.

The survey of nearly 33,000 people in 10 Chinese cities found that relentless pressure from families and jobs was having a major impact on the sex lives of both new couples and those who have been married for a long time.

Thirty percent of middle-aged couples have given up on sex altogether as a result of physical or psychological problems related to stress, according to the results of the survey published in the China Daily newspaper.

One quarter of couples aged under 30 reported similar problems.

The survey, conducted by a US pharmaceutical firm and the Beijing-based China Population Communication Centre, also found 45 percent of men in relationships suffered from erectile dysfunction.

"Due to the heavy burden having a family and a career puts on middle-aged people today, sexual dysfunction is affecting more and more men, overshadowing their relationship with their wives," the paper quoted Qiu Xiaolan from the China Sexology Association as saying.