Sex addict, 90, is among almost 100 patients treated for condition in UK hospitals over past five years - with men in their 40s and 50s the most likely sufferers

• Figures from NHS Digital show 95 hospital appointments over the past five years
• Among patients, most of whom aged 40-50 , 69 were men and 26 were women
• Doctors dealt with 27 cases linked to an 'excessive sex drive' in 2018-19A 90-year-old was among nearly 100 patients treated by the UK's hospitals for their addiction to sex, figures have revealed.

  Statistics from NHS Digital show there have been 95 hospital appointments over the past five years which have been linked to 'an excessive sex drive'.

  Among the patients being treated for the condition, most of whom were in the 40-50 age range, 69 were men and 26 were women.It comes after figures last year showed that NHS doctors dealt with 27 cases linked to an 'excessive sex drive' in 2018-19.

  

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  Figures from NHS Digital show there have been 95 hospital appointments over the past five years linked to sex addictionThis was made up of 20 men and seven women and included four people aged in their 70s. 

  The average age of people dealing with a sex addiction in 2018-19 was 45. 

  Meanwhile in 2016-17, 14 sex addicts were seen by the NHS, three of whom were in their 70s.  

  What is sex addiction?

  Sex addiction, which is sometimes referred to as 'compulsive sexual behaviour' or 'hypersexual disorder', is a condition in which a person feels their sexual behaviour is 'out of control', according to the relationship counselling service Relate.

  Some people find they are unable to control these urges and actions or cannot limit their behaviour.

  Others will become dependent on the activity in a bid to numb out negative emotions and difficult experiences. 

  Symptoms include experiencing overwhelming, persistent sexual thoughts and urges, being incapable of refraining from having sex with others and typically feeling guilty or  ashamed after acting on your sexual compulsions. 

  Those with the addiction may also spend significant amounts of time viewing pornography.

  In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared sex addiction a mental-health disorder.  Sex addiction, which is sometimes referred to as 'compulsive sexual behaviour' or 'hypersexual disorder', is a condition in which a person feels their sexual behaviour is 'out of control', according to the relationship counselling service Relate.

  While these behaviours do not cause any serious problems for most people, some addicts find they are unable to control these urges and actions or cannot limit their behaviour.

  Others will become dependent on the activity in a bid to numb out negative emotions and difficult experiences.  

  In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared sex addiction a mental-health disorder. 

  Patients must suffer from the disorder for at least six months, and experience substantial distress as a result of their addiction, before being diagnosed.

  Nuno Albuquerque, from the UK Addiction Treatment Group, said the addiction can 'fill a person's waking life' and could 'happen to anyone, of any sex and age'. 

  He told The Sunday Express: 'The idea of someone being addicted to sex may seem implausible but it is as real an addiction as drug addiction.

  'Sex can come to fill a person's waking life. They develop a physical and psychological compulsive need to seek, observe or engage in sexual behaviour, despite any negative consequences.

  'It can happen to anyone, of any sex, at any age. It is not dirty or shameful but often stems from abuse suffered during childhood, family dysfunction, hormones or biochemical imbalances.' 

  In 2007, comedian Russell Brand revealed in his autobiography My Booky Wook that he had checked into rehab for 30 days in a US clinic in an attempt to curb his sex addiction.

  

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  Russell Brand revealed how he checked into rehab for 30 days in a US clinic in an attempt to curb for his sex addiction

  He wrote: 'Many people are skeptical about the idea of what I like to call ''sexy addiction,'' thinking it a spurious notion, invented primarily to help Hollywood film stars evade responsibility for their unrestrained priapic excesses. But I reckon there is such a thing.

  'Addiction, by definition, is a compulsive behaviour that you cannot control or relinquish, in spite of its destructive consequences. 

  'And if the story I am about to recount proves nothing else, it demonstrates that this formula can be applied to sex just as easily as it can be to drugs or alcohol.'