Anthropologists at University College London have found that masturbation helps protect against sexually transmitted infections, at least in male primates. The results of the research have been published magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
“We found that masturbation is an ancient feature of the primate order. Our team has compiled the largest ever database of masturbation events among 105 primate species,” he said.
After analyzing this, the scientists found a pattern: masturbation is more common in males of species whose females mate with several individuals. This suggests that masturbation may somewhat increase the chances of fertilization in competitive sexual scenarios. One theory is that it may improve the quality of the ejaculate by expelling “stale” semen first.
The team also found evidence of a link between masturbation and pathogens in men. Therefore, masturbation can serve as a way to expel microorganisms that cause sexual infections.
Masturbation is also more common in males of larger primate species who cannot reach their genitals for oral care.
“The data obtained can be transferred to people. It is important to note that there were much fewer reports of masturbation in female primates in our dataset. Therefore, we do not know whether women have the same mechanism,” the anthropologists concluded.