Sexual function and sex life quality 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 |
| Dissatisfied with sex life, past year | 19.7 (15.9 to 24.2) | 22.3 (18.7 to 26.4) | 27.5 (23.3 to 32.2) | 29.8 (26.4 to 33.3) | 28.6 (25.9 to 31.5) | 26.8 (25.2 to 28.5) | 15.2 (14.2 to 16.2) | 2.10 (1.88 to 2.36); p<0.0001 | 24.0 (17.4 to 32.3) | 16.3 (78.3 to 88.0) | 1.66 (0.97 to 2.85); p=0.066 |
| Distressed with sex life, past year | 21.5 (17.5 to 26.2) | 27.4 (23.5 to 31.7) | 21.6 (17.8 to 26.0) | 20.5 (17.6 to 23.6) | 14.2 (12.2 to 16.6) | 19.3 (17.9 to 20.8) | 11.4 (10.5 to 12.3) | 1.82 (1.60 to 2.07); p<0.0001 | 28.5 (20.7 to 37.7) | 12.9 (9.0 to 18.1) | 2.71 (1.52 to 4.82); p=0.0007 |
| Sexual difficulties, past year§ | 12.4 (9.4 to 16.3) | 13.4 (10.6 to 16.8) | 9.8 (7.2 to 13.2) | 9.1 (7.1 to 11.5) | 12.1 (10.1 to 14.3) | 11.3 (10.2 to 12.6) | – | – | 12.7 (7.7 to 20.2) | – | – |
| Avoided sex due to difficulties, past year§ | 11.9 (8.8 to 15.9) | 11.8 (9.1 to 15.2) | 9.3 (6.8 to 12.6) | 8.9 (7.0 to 11.2) | 11.8 (9.9 to 14.0) | 10.8 (9.7 to 12.0) | – | – | 13.5 (8.1 to 21.5) | – | – |
| Overall sex life in past year worse than previous year§ | 26.6 (22.2 to 31.6) | 26.3 (22.5 to 30.4) | 26.8 (22.6 to 31.5) | 26.0 (22.8 to 29.4) | 24.2 (21.6 to 27.0) | 25.5 (23.9 to 27.2) | – | – | 29.3 (21.8 to 38.0) | – | – |
| Denominator (unweighted, weighted)‡ | 411, 327 | 541, 429 | 429, 356 | 751, 693 | 1031, 1149 | 3163, 2960 | 6527, 5493 | – | 167, 82 | 341, 237 | – |
| 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 |
| Dissatisfied with sex life, past year | 17.0 (13.2 to 21.5) | 21.0 (16.8 to 25.9) | 22.8 (17.6 to 29.0) | 35.5 (31.7 to 39.6) | 41.5 (38.4 to 44.7) | 32.2 (30.4 to 34.2) | 18.1 (16.9 to 19.4) | 2.34 (2.07 to 2.65); p<0.0001 | 27.1 (21.0 to 34.2) | 25.8 (18.6 to 34.5) | 1.43 (0.82 to 2.48); p=0.21 |
| Distressed with sex life, past year | 26.5 (21.7 to 31.9) | 28.8 (23.9 to 34.3) | 21.8 (16.5 to 28.1) | 24.7 (21.2 to 28.5) | 18.5 (16.1 to 21.1) | 22.8 (21.1 to 24.6) | 10.5 (9.5 to 11.5) | 2.52 (2.19 to 2.89); p<0.0001 | 37.7 (30.0 to 46.0) | 12.5 (7.9 to 19.1) | 4.54 (2.55 to 8.09); p<0.0001 |
| Sexual difficulties, past year§ | 20.0 (15.8 to 24.9) | 17.7 (13.6 to 22.7) | 8.7 (5.5 to 13.6) | 9.7 (7.6 to 12.3) | 6.1 (4.7 to 7.8) | 10.6 (9.4 to 12.0) | – | – | 29.5 (22.2 to 37.9) | – | – |
| Avoided sex due to difficulties, past year§ | 22.0 (17.6 to 27.3) | 14.7 (11.0 to 19.3) | 7.6 (4.7 to 12.1) | 8.1 (6.1 to 10.6) | 5.2 (3.9 to 6.9) | 9.6 (8.5 to 10.9) | – | – | 26.3 (19.2 to 34.9) | – | – |
| Overall sex life in past year worse than previous year§ | 18.7 (14.6 to 23.6) | 22.6 (18.2 to 27.7) | 22.5 (17.3 to 28.7) | 31.1 (27.3 to 35.2) | 27.9 (25.1 to 30.8) | 26.3 (24.6 to 28.2) | – | – | 29.4 (22.4 to 37.6) | – | – |
| Denominator (unweighted, weighted)‡ | 364, 407 | 361, 375 | 243, 287 | 709, 816 | 1143, 1132 | 2820, 3017 | 4891, 5953 | – | 263, 139 | 185, 187 | – |
Weighted percentages reported with 95% CIs in parentheses.
*‘All’ comprises sexually experienced participants aged 18–59 years, including WSW and MSM.
†Age-adjusted odds ratios (aOR) compare 1 year prevalence rates in Natsal-COVID-2 with Natsal-3.
‡Denominators for dissatisfied with sex life are shown; other denominators were of similar magnitude.
§Natsal-3 comparison not available due to lack of variable in Natsal-3 dataset or differences between surveys regarding question wording and response options.
MSM, men who reported sex with men; WSW, women who reported sex with women.