| Popis: |
Objective Sexual behavior is of public health interest because of the association with reproductive health and sexually transmitted infections such as human papillomavirus, which is the causal factor of cervical cancer. The aim of the study was to describe patterns in women's sexual behavior in four Nordic countries. Design Population-based cross-sectional study. Setting Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden (November 2004-June 2005). Population A random sample of 18-45-year-old women from the female population in the four participating Nordic countries. The participation rate ranged from 81.3% in Denmark to 54.5% in Iceland. In total, 65 623 women were included. Methods Each participant completed a structured questionnaire containing questions about sociodemographic factors, lifestyle factors and sexual behavior. Main outcome measures Age-specific and country-specific descriptive measures of sexual behavior, notably age at first intercourse and lifetime number of partners. In addition, risk factors for having had multiple (>10) sexual partners were examined. Results Overall, median age at first intercourse was 16, and 30.2% (95% CI: 29.9-30.6) of the participating women reported having had ≥10 partners. There was great variation with birth cohort but limited variation between countries. The main correlates of multiple sexual partners were increasing age at enrollment, a higher alcohol intake and young age at first intercourse. Conclusions These measurements of sexual behavior before the introduction of national human papillomavirus vaccination programs will form the basis for a comparison with a similar survey performed after vaccination has been introduced. |
