Use of sexual health services, HIV and chlamydia testing, and cervical cancer screening in Britain during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic
| Women | 18–24 years | 25–29 years | 30–34 years | 35–44 years | 45–59 years | All* | All Natsal-3‡ | aOR† | All WSW | All Natsal-3 WSW | aOR |
| STI-related service use, past year | 19.1 (15.1 to 24.0) | 11.0 (8.3 to 14.3) | 7.2 (4.9 to 10.5) | 2.3 (1.5 to 3.7) | – | 8.4 (7.1 to 9.8) | 8.6 (7.8 to 9.5) | 0.96 (0.77 to 1.18); p=0.67 | – | – | – |
| Chlamydia test, past year | 15.6 (12.1 to 20.0) | 10.7 (8.1 to 13.8) | 4.9 (3.2 to 7.5) | 2.4 (1.5 to 3.9) | – | 7.3 (6.2 to 8.5) | 25.1 (23.7 to 26.4) | 0.20 (0.16 to 0.24); p<0.0001 | – | – | – |
| HIV test, past year | 12.2 (9.0 to 16.4) | 11.8 (9.0 to 15.3) | 9.1 (6.6 to 12.4) | 4.6 (3.2 to 6.6) | – | 8.6 (7.4 to 10.0) | 10.4 (9.5 to 11.4) | 0.80 (0.66 to 0.99); p=0.029 | – | – | – |
| Cervical cancer screening, past year§ | – | 16.3 (13.4 to 19.8) | 12.4 (9.7 to 15.9) | 11.2 (9.1 to 13.8) | 6.7 (5.3 to 8.4) | 10.3 (9.2 to 11.5) | – | – | – | – | – |
| Denominator (unweighted, weighted) | 371, 290 | 518, 416 | 402, 330 | 706, 647 | – | 1997, 1683 | 4701, 3331 | – | – | – | – |
| Men | 18–24 years | 25–29 years | 30–34 years | 35–44 years | 45–59 years | All* | All Natsal-3‡ | aOR† | All MSM | All Natsal-3 MSM | aOR |
| STI-related service use, past year | 16.0 (12.2 to 20.8) | 13.0 (9.6 to 17.5) | 8.0 (4.9 to 12.8) | 4.0 (2.8 to 5.7) | – | 9.0 (7.6 to 10.6) | 7.0 (6.2 to 7.9) | 1.32 (1.04 to 1.67); p=0.023 | 36.2 (27.2 to 46.3) | 27.0 (19.1 to 36.5) | 1.55 (0.85 to 2.84); p=0.15 |
| Chlamydia test, past year | 7.0 (4.4 to 10.9) | 5.0 (3.0 to 8.3) | 5.0 (2.7 to 9.1) | 2.0 (1.2 to 3.1) | – | 4.1 (3.2 to 5.3) | 15.1 (13.9 to 16.3) | 0.21 (0.15 to 0.29); p<0.0001 | 17.3 (11.5 to 25.3) | 35.1 (26.2 to 45.1) | 0.39 (0.21 to 0.73); p=0.0034 |
| HIV test, past year | 8.6 (5.9 to 12.4) | 7.8 (5.3 to 11.4) | 9.4 (6.0 to 14.3) | 4.0 (2.8 to 5.6) | – | 6.5 (5.4 to 7.9) | 6.0 (5.1 to 7.0) | 1.10 (0.85 to 1.44); p=0.46 | 29.1 (21.1 to 38.7) | 27.9 (19.7 to 38.0) | 1.06 (0.56 to 1.98); p=0.86 |
| Denominator (unweighted, weighted) | 307, 342 | 326, 336 | 226, 264 | 652, 744 | – | 1511, 1686 | 3198, 3366 | – | 183, 114 | 126, 109 | – |
Weighted percentages reported with 95% CIs in parentheses.
*‘All’ comprises sexually experienced participants aged 18–44 years (25–59 for cervical cancer screening only), including WSW and MSM.
†Age-adjusted odds ratios (aOR) compare 1 year prevalence rates in Natsal-COVID-2 with Natsal-3. Data are presented as STI-related service use for Natsal-COVID-2, including STI testing, STI follow-up care, and HIV testing;.
‡Natsal-3 comparisons present sexual health clinic attendance and should therefore be interpreted with caution.
§Due to differences in ages represented, cervical cancer screening denominators are: 25–59 (582, 473); 30–34 (463, 385); 35–44 (816, 762); 45–59 (1088, 1217); All (2949, 2837); Natsal-3 comparison not available due to lack of variable in Natsal-3 dataset or differences between surveys regarding reporting timeframes.
MSM, men who reported sex with men; STI, sexually transmitted infection; WSW, women who reported sex with women.