Faculty of Medicine, University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Montigny-le- Bretonneux, France.
The Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK.
J Sex Med. 2020 Jul;17(7):1229-1236. doi: 10.1016/j.jsxm.2020.05.001. Epub 2020 May 14.
On 23rd March 2020, the UK government released self-isolation/social distancing guidance to reduce the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The influence such guidance has on sexual activity is not known.
To investigate levels and correlates of sexual activity during COVID-19 self-isolation/social distancing in a sample of the UK public.
This paper presents preplanned interim analyses of data from a cross-sectional epidemiological study, administered through an online survey.
Sexual activity was measured using the following question: "On average after self-isolating how many times have you engaged in sexual activity weekly?" Demographic and clinical data were collected, including sex, age, marital status, employment, annual household income, region, current smoking status, current alcohol consumption, number of chronic physical conditions, number of chronic psychiatric conditions, any physical symptom experienced during self-isolation, and number of days of self-isolation/social distancing. The association between several factors (independent variables) and sexual activity (dependent variable) was studied using a multivariable logistic regression model.
868 individuals were included in this study. There were 63.1% of women, and 21.8% of adults who were aged between 25 and 34 years. During self-isolation/social distancing, 39.9% of the population reported engaging in sexual activity at least once per week. Variables significantly associated with sexual activity (dependent variable) were being male, a younger age, being married or in a domestic partnership, consuming alcohol, and a higher number of days of self-isolation/social distancing.
In this sample of 868 UK adults self-isolating owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of sexual activity was lower than 40%. Those reporting particularly low levels of sexual activity included females, older adults, those not married, and those who abstain from alcohol consumption.
This is the first study to investigate sexual activity during the UK COVID-19 self-isolation/social distancing. Participants were asked to self-report their sexual activity potentially introducing self-reporting bias into the findings. Second, analyses were cross-sectional and thus it is not possible to determine trajectories of sexual activity during the current pandemic.
Interventions to promote health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic should consider positive sexual health messages in mitigating the detrimental health consequences in relation to self-isolation/social distancing and should target those with the lowest levels of sexual activity. Jacob L, Smith L, Butler L, et al. Challenges in the Practice of Sexual Medicine in the Time of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom. J Sex Med 2020;17:1229-1236.
2020 年 3 月 23 日，英国政府发布了自我隔离/社会疏离指南，以降低 SARS-CoV-2 的传播风险。该指南对性活动的影响尚不清楚。
调查 COVID-19 自我隔离/社会疏离期间英国公众的性活动水平及其相关因素。
本研究通过在线调查进行横断面流行病学研究，对预先计划的中期分析数据进行了分析。
本研究共纳入 868 名参与者。其中 63.1%为女性，21.8%的成年人年龄在 25 至 34 岁之间。在自我隔离/社会疏离期间，39.9%的人群报告每周至少进行一次性活动。与性活动（因变量）显著相关的变量有男性、年龄较小、已婚或处于家庭伴侣关系、饮酒以及自我隔离/社会疏离天数较多。
在这项针对 COVID-19 大流行期间自我隔离的 868 名英国成年人的样本中，性活动的流行率低于 40%。报告性活动水平特别低的人群包括女性、老年人、未婚人群和不饮酒人群。
这是第一项调查英国 COVID-19 自我隔离期间性活动的研究。参与者被要求自我报告他们的性活动，这可能会导致研究结果存在自我报告偏差。其次，分析是横断面的，因此无法确定当前大流行期间性活动的轨迹。
在 COVID-19 大流行期间，促进健康和幸福感的干预措施应考虑积极的性健康信息，以减轻自我隔离/社会疏离对健康的不利影响，应针对性活动水平最低的人群。
