Approved Research

Determinants of sexual partners, sexual activity, infectious diseases, and diseases related to sexual behaviors.

Lay summary

Stating the aims:

- Determine parameters associated with sexual partners, sexual activity, infectious diseases, and diseases related to sexual behaviors in the UK Biobank middle-aged population.

Scientific rationale:

The lifetime number of different sexual partners is associated with higher risk of sexually transmitted infections. General population is mainly unaware of the risk of sexual transmitted diseases (STIs), as morbidity and mortality risk, except for HIV. Thus, it remains essential to understand the associations between factors (individual, clinical, biological, behavioral) with the increase or decrease in sexual activity and the with STIs and related diseases. The socioeconomic impacts of STIs remained a major public health issue in countries and responsible for around directly attributed 30,000 deaths in United States. Some studies in United States have shown that the number of sexual partners was significantly associated with ethnicity, alcohol, tobacco smoking and dating violence, history of abuse, drugs and violence. Moreover, new mathematical models could explain the relationship between parameters and the number of sexual partners, to better understand the behavior of men and women in order to implement appropriate prevention strategies for safe sex.

Public health impact:

Understanding the determinants associated with sexual partners and sexual activity leading to infectious diseases may be off interest to implement appropriate interventions to educate younger adults about the risk of having a high number of sexual partners with health consequences and thus, the practice of safe sex. Thus, the research projet is to determine determinants associated with sexual partners, sexual activity, infectious diseases, and diseases related to sexual behaviors in the UK Biobank middle-aged population.

Project duration: 36 months