Patterns of sexual behaviour 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 |
| Occasions of sex, past 4 weeks Median (IQR) | 2 (0 to 6) | 3 (1 to 6) | 3 (1 to 6) | 2 (0 to 5) | 2 (0 to 4) | 2 (0 to 5) | 3 (1 to 6) | – | 2 (0 to 6) | 3 (1 to 6) | – |
| Frequency of vaginal, anal, or oral sex, past 4 months* | |||||||||||
| Not in past 4 months | 21.6 (17.5 to 26.4) | 18.4 (15.1 to 22.3) | 19.4 (15.8 to 23.7) | 29.7 (26.3 to 33.4) | 42.5 (39.4 to 45.6) | 30.8 (29.1 to 32.6) | – | – | 22.4 (15.7 to 30.9) | – | – |
| Less than once a week | 37.1 (32.0 to 42.5) | 32.0 (27.9 to 36.4) | 35.0 (30.3 to 40.0) | 33.3 (29.8 to 37.0) | 33.2 (30.3 to 36.3) | 33.7 (31.9 to 35.5) | – | – | 38.4 (29.8 to 47.9) | – | – |
| At least once a week | 41.3 (36.1 to 46.7) | 49.6 (45.0 to 54.1) | 45.0 (40.6 to 50.7) | 37.0 (33.4 to 40.7) | 24.3 (21.7 to 27.2) | 35.5 (33.7 to 37.3) | – | – | 39.2 (30.4 to 48.6) | – | – |
| Number of sexual partners, past year | |||||||||||
| 0 partners | 28.5 (23.7 to 33.8) | 20.6 (17.0 to 24.6) | 19.3 (15.6 to 23.6) | 27.0 (23.6 to 30.6) | 34.4 (31.5 to 37.5) | 28.2 (26.6 to 30.0) | 15.9 (14.9 to 16.9) | – | 18.9 (12.5 to 27.6) | 4.4 (2.4 to 8.0) | – |
| 1 partner | 53.8 (48.2 to 59.2) | 68.4 (63.8 to 72.6) | 75.7 (71.1 to 79.8) | 68.8 (65.1 to 72.3) | 64.9 (61.9 to 67.9) | 66.4 (64.6 to 68.2) | 70.6 (69.4 to 71.9) | 0.35 (0.31 to 0.40); p<0.0001 | 54.9 (45.4 to 64.0) | 47.7 (41.3 to 54.0) | 0.19 (0.09 to 0.44); p=0.0001 |
| 2+ partners | 17.8 (13.9 to 22.5) | 11.1 (8.3 to 14.5) | 4.9 (3.1 to 7.8) | 4.2 (2.9 to 6.1) | 0.6 (0.3 to 1.5) | 5.4 (4.6 to 6.3) | 13.5 (12.6 to 14.4) | 0.30 (0.25 to 0.36); p<0.0001 | 26.2 (18.6 to 35.6) | 47.9 (41.6 to 54.3) | 0.38 (0.23 to 0.64); p=0.0002 |
| Number of new sexual partners, past year | |||||||||||
| 0 partners | 67.6 (62.2 to 72.5) | 83.1 (79.3 to 86.4) | 89.0 (85.3 to 91.9) | 91.0 (88.5 to 93.0) | 97.5 (96.2 to 98.3) | 89.6 (88.4 to 90.7) | 81.9 (80.9 to 82.9) | – | 62.8 (53.0 to 71.6) | 56.4 (50.1 to 62.6) | – |
| 1 partner | 22.9 (18.6 to 27.9) | 11.4 (8.7 to 14.7) | 8.5 (6.1 to 11.9) | 7.4 (5.6 to 9.7) | 2.4 (1.6 to 3.7) | 7.8 (6.9 to 8.9) | 11.5 (10.7 to 12.3) | 0.44 (0.38 to 0.51); p<0.0001 | 22.1 (14.7 to 31.8) | 19.4 (15.1 to 24.5) | 0.80 (0.50 to 1.29); p=0.36 |
| 2+ partners | 9.5 (6.7 to 13.4) | 5.5 (3.7 to 8.2) | 2.4 (1.2 to 4.7) | 1.6 (0.9 to 2.9) | 0.1 (0.0 to 0.8) | 2.5 (2.0 to 3.2) | 6.6 (6.1 to 7.3) | 0.31 (0.23 to 0.40); p<0.0001 | 15.2 (9.7 to 22.9) | 24.2 (19.2 to 30.0) | 0.59 (0.32 to 1.08); p=0.091 |
| Number of new condomless sexual partners, past year§ | |||||||||||
| 0 partners | 80.6 (75.8 to 84.7) | 88.3 (84.9 to 91.1) | 93.3 (90.2 to 95.5) | 94.8 (92.7 to 96.2) | 98.5 (97.5 to 99.1) | 93.6 (92.6 to 94.4) | – | – | 90.9 (83.0 to 95.4) | – | – |
| 1 partner | 14.8 (11.2 to 19.3) | 9.4 (7.0 to 12.6) | 5.6 (3.6 to 8.6) | 4.2 (2.9 to 6.1) | 1.5 (0.9 to 2.5) | 5.2 (4.4 to 6.1) | – | – | 5.7 (2.2 to 13.8) | – | – |
| 2+ partners | 4.6 (2.8 to 7.6) | 2.3 (1.2 to 4.2) | 1.1 (0.5 to 2.9) | 1.0 (0.5 to 2.1) | 0.0 | 1.2 (0.9 to 1.7) | – | – | 3.4 (1.4 to 8.1) | – | – |
| Denominator (unweighted, weighted) | 390, 311 | 515, 414 | 415, 343 | 719, 659 | 1012, 1128 | 3051, 2856 | 6469, 5432 | – | 165.80 | 331 230 | – |
| 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 |
| Occasions of sex, past 4 weeks Median (IQR) | 2 (1 to 8) | 3 (1 to 7) | 3 (1 to 7) | 2 (1 to 5) | 2 (0 to 4) | 2 (0 to 6) | 3 (1 to 6) | – | 2 (0 to 5) | 3 (1 to 6) | – |
| Frequency of vaginal, anal, or oral sex, past 4 months* | |||||||||||
| Not in past 4 months | 20.0 (15.7 to 25.1) | 19.5 (15.3 to 24.4) | 21.1 (16.0 to 27.3) | 25.2 (21.8 to 29.0) | 43.4 (40.2 to 46.6) | 30.2 (28.3 to 32.1) | – | – | 16.2 (11.3 to 22.6) | – | – |
| Less than once a week | 31.7 (26.5 to 37.5) | 30.3 (25.1 to 35.9) | 33.3 (27.0 to 40.3) | 37.3 (33.4 to 41.4) | 30.6 (27.7 to 33.7) | 32.8 (30.9 to 34.8) | – | – | 45.0 (37.0 to 53.3) | – | – |
| At least once a week | 48.2 (42.4 to 54.1) | 50.3 (44.5 to 56.0) | 45.5 (38.6 to 52.6) | 37.4 (33.6 to 41.4) | 26.0 (23.3 to 29.0) | 37.0 (35.0 to 39.0) | – | – | 38.8 (31.0 to 47.3) | – | – |
| Number of sexual partners, past year | |||||||||||
| 0 partners | 34.3 (28.8 to 40.3) | 31.3 (26.0 to 37.2) | 21.3 (16.1 to 27.7) | 22.5 (19.2 to 26.1) | 35.7 (32.6 to 38.8) | 30.0 (28.2 to 32.0) | 11.5 (10.5 to 12.5) | – | 16.2 (11.3 to 22.6) | 3.9 (1.8 to 8.2) | – |
| 1 partner | 41.2 (35.3 to 47.4) | 50.0 (44.0 to 56.0) | 68.9 (62.0 to 75.1) | 69.8 (65.9 to 73.5) | 61.1 (57.9 to 64.2) | 60.3 (58.2 to 62.4) | 69.1 (67.6 to 70.5) | 0.23 (0.20 to 0.27); p<0.0001 | 45.0 (37.0 to 53.3) | 35.2 (27.5 to 43.8) | 0.20 (0.08 to 0.51); p=0.0009 |
| 2+ partners | 24.5 (19.5 to 30.3) | 18.7 (14.3 to 24.1) | 9.7 (6.2 to 14.9) | 7.6 (5.8 to 10.1) | 3.2 (2.2 to 4.5) | 9.6 (8.4 to 11.0) | 19.4 (18.3 to 20.7) | 0.37 (0.31 to 0.43); p<0.0001 | 38.8 (31.0 to 47.3) | 60.8 (52.2 to 68.8) | 0.38 (0.24 to 0.62); p=0.0001 |
| Number of new sexual partners, past year | |||||||||||
| 0 partners | 61.5 (55.2 to 67.3) | 71.9 (66.2 to 77.1) | 80.3 (73.9 to 85.3) | 84.2 (80.7 to 87.1) | 93.9 (92.0 to 95.3) | 83.2 (81.5 to 84.8) | 76.7 (75.4 to 77.9) | – | 52.4 (44.0 to 60.6) | 43.3 (34.9 to 52.1) | – |
| 1 partner | 20.8 (16.2 to 26.1) | 14.7 (11.1 to 9.3) | 13.2 (9.1 to 18.8) | 12.1 (9.4 to 15.4) | 4.7 (3.4 to 6.4) | 10.8 (9.5 to 12.2) | 12.5 (11.6 to 13.5) | 0.55 (0.48 to 0.64); p<0.0001 | 19.6 (13.9 to 27.0) | 14.8 (10.1 to 21.1) | 0.57 (0.35 to 0.92); p=0.022 |
| 2+ partners | 17.8 (13.4 to 23.3) | 13.3 (9.5 to 18.3) | 6.5 (3.8 to 11.1) | 3.7 (2.5 to 5.5) | 1.5 (0.9 to 2.6) | 6.1 (5.1 to 7.2) | 10.8 (9.9 to 11.7) | 0.46 (0.37 to 0.56); p<0.0001 | 28.0 (20.8 to 36.5) | 41.9 (33.6 to 50.7) | 0.50 (0.30 to 0.83); p=0.0075 |
| Number of new condomless sexual partners, past year§ | |||||||||||
| 0 partners | 75.2 (69.7 to 80.0) | 78.8 (73.3 to 83.4) | 87.5 (81.9 to 91.6) | 88.5 (85.3 to 91.1) | 96.2 (94.6 to 97.3) | 88.5 (87.1 to 89.9) | – | – | 61.4 (52.7 to 69.5) | – | – |
| 1 partner | 14.8 (11.0 to 19.5) | 12.2 (8.9 to 16.5) | 9.7 (6.2 to 15.1) | 9.4 (7.0 to 12.5) | 3.1 (2.1 to 4.6) | 8.0 (6.9 to 9.3) | – | – | 18.1 (12.2 to 25.9) | – | – |
| 2+ partners | 10.1 (7.1 to 14.2) | 9.1 (5.9 to 13.7) | 2.7 (1.2 to 6.1) | 2.1 (1.2 to 3.6) | 0.7 (0.4 to 1.5) | 3.5 (2.8 to 4.3) | – | – | 20.5 (14.1 to 28.9) | – | – |
| Denominator (unweighted, weighted) | 334, 371 | 329, 343 | 228, 271 | 679, 781 | 1112, 1103 | 2682, 2871 | 4847, 5899 | – | 262, 138 | 176, 177 | – |
Weighted percentages reported with 95% CIs in parentheses.
*‘All’ comprises sexually experienced participants aged 18–59 years, including women who have sex with women (WSW) and men who have sex with men (MSM).
†WSW and MSM were defined as women and men, respectively, who reported a previous same-sex experience in the past 5 years.
‡Age-adjusted odds ratios (aOR) compare 1 year prevalence rates in Natsal-COVID-2 vs Natsal-3. For each aOR, ‘0 partners’ is the reference group for a dichotomous outcome variable. As such, the aOR for ‘one partner’ represents odds of having one or more partners in the past year in Natsal-COVID-2 vs Natsal-3. Denominators for number of partners are shown; other denominators were of similar magnitude.
§Natsal-3 comparison not available due to lack of variable in Natsal-3 dataset.