Trends in Sexual Activity and Associations With All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Among US Adults.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Prospective cohort analysis linking nationally representative survey data to mortality outcomes.
PubMed 32665214 · doi:10.1016/j.jsxm.2020.05.028
What was done
Researchers evaluated temporal trends in self-reported sexual activity frequency and its prospective link to mortality among US adults aged 20–59 using NHANES 2005–2016 data (n = 15,269; mean age 39.1 years). In a subset of 12,598 participants linked to the National Death Index through 2015 (median follow-up 5.7 years, range 1–11 years; 71,960 person-years), multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios were calculated for all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and other-cause mortality across categories of sexual frequency.
What was found
In 2015–2016, 71.7% (95% CI, 67.7–75.7%) of adults engaged in sex ≥12 times/year and 36.1% (95% CI, 31.6–40.7%) ≥52 times/year; trends were stable from 2005 to 2016 (all P for trend > 0.1). Over follow-up, 228 deaths occurred (29 CVD, 62 cancer). Higher sexual frequency showed a dose-response reduction in all-cause mortality (P for trend = 0.020). Comparing ≥52 times/year to 0–1 time/year, multivariable-adjusted HRs were 0.51 (95% CI, 0.34–0.76) for all-cause mortality, 0.31 (95% CI, 0.11–0.84) for cancer mortality, 0.52 (95% CI, 0.28–0.96) for other-cause mortality, and 0.79 (95% CI, 0.19–3.21) for CVD mortality.
Why it matters
Sexual frequency is a stable health indicator in US adults, with regular sexual activity independently associated with lower risks of all-cause and cancer mortality.
Limits
The observational design cannot establish causality, leaving risk of residual confounding or reverse causation where poor baseline health reduces sexual activity. Exposure was self-reported, follow-up was relatively short (median 5.7 years), and cause-specific mortality counts were low (e.g., 29 CVD deaths), yielding wide confidence intervals.
Cited by
- partial People who have sex once a week have a 49% lower all-cause mortality rate compared to those who have sex once a year.