A new study has revealed that the chances of middle-aged virgins getting prostate cancer is much less as compared to men who are sexually active.
Scientists, compiled data from 220,000 men aged between 40 and 69 for the study and found that virgins have half the risk of getting prostate cancer when compared to sexually active men.
The study revealed that men who had never experienced sexual intercourse were 47 percent less likely to develop the disease.
According to the research carried out by Oxford University, the likelihood jumps up to almost one in 16 for virgins.
It is to be noted that prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers among men in the UK. One in eight is being diagnosed with the deadly disease in their lifetime, with reportedly 43,000 cases in the UK, each year.
Professor Tim Key told The Sun: "Infections passed during sex, raising prostate cancer risk, could be a possibility."
Professor Key added: "Low testosterone levels are also a possible explanation. We know it is a protective factor against prostate cancer. And as it is a sex hormone, it may explain why these men are less interested in sex."
He explained saying that reduced levels of testosterone in virgins may have contributed to the lower levels of diagnosis.
However, Prof Key also admitted: "It is a huge study but there were only about 20 cases of men who had never had sex."
The study also showed that being fat also appears to slash the risk by a quarter. Referring to the lower risk of the disease for obese men, Prof Key said: "It may be that it is simply harder to pick up cancer in these men.
