The health and well-being of men who have sex with men (MSM) in Britain: Evidence from the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3)

Mercer, Catherine H.; Prah, Philip; Field, Nigel; Tanton, Clare; Macdowall, Wendy; Clifton, Soazig; Hughes, Gwenda; Nardone, Anthony; Wellings, Kaye; Johnson, Anne M.; Sonnenberg, Pam

doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3149-z

Table 5 Sexual behaviours, risk perception, and sexual health outcomes reported by men who have sex exclusively with women (MSEW), all men who have sex with men (MSM), and MSM who identified as gay in Natsal-3

From: The health and well-being of men who have sex with men (MSM) in Britain: Evidence from the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3)

	MSEW	All MSM		MSM who identified as gay^b
Denominators: ^a	5069, 6257	190, 191		107, 99
	% [95 % CI]	% [95 % CI]	p-value^*	% [95 % CI]	p-value^**
Sexual behaviours
≥10 partners^c, past year	1.2 [0.9–1.5]	13.4 [8.0–21.6]		19.6 [10.5–33.7]
aAOR [95 % CI]^d	1.00	11.69 [6.06–22.54]	<0.001	15.91 [7.10–35.66]	<0.001
Non-use of condoms at first sex with any of the three most recent partners^c, past year	10.1 [9.3–11]	15.2 [9.7–23.1]		6.0 [3.2–10.9]
aAOR [95 % CI]^d	1.00	1.50 [0.91–2.49]	0.114	0.66 [0.35–1.24]	0.198
Condomless sex with ≥2 partners^c, past year	8.1 [7.3–8.9]	24.6 [17.1–34.1]		13.0 [6.6–24.3]
aAOR [95 % CI]^d	1.00	3.52 [2.13–5.83]	<0.001	1.86 [0.85–4.07]	0.120
Concurrent partners^c, past 5 years	15.6 [14.5–16.7]	52.4 [43.5–61.1]		41.6 [29.7–54.5]
aAOR [95 % CI]^d	1.00	5.65 [3.85–8.30]	<0.001	3.66 [2.23–6.00]	<0.001
Taken drugs to assist sexual performance, past year	6.5 [5.7–7.3]	19.1 [12.6–27.7]		18.4 [9.8–31.7]
aAOR [95 % CI]^d	1.00	3.50 [2.06–5.93]	<0.001	3.72 [1.74–7.94]	0.001
STI/HIV risk perception
Self-perceived STI risk
Not at all at risk	73.6 [72.2–74.9]	31.5 [23.7–40.7]		33.6 [22.4–46.9]
Not very much	23 [21.7–24.3]	51.1 [42.3–59.8]		45.8 [34.1–58.0]
Quite a lot	2.6 [2.2–3]	11.9 [7.1–19.5]		15.7 [8.6–27.0]
Greatly at risk	0.9 [0.7–1.2]	5.4 [2.3–12.4]		4.9 [1.7–13.4]
AOR [95 % CI]^e	1.00	5.60 [3.28–9.56]	<0.001	7.04 [3.69–13.43]	<0.001
Self-perceived HIV risk
Not at all at risk	76.0 [74.7–77.3]	35.0 [27.0–43.9]		39.2 [28.2–51.5]
Not very much	21.0 [19.8–22.3]	50.6 [41.6–59.5]		44.5 [33.0–56.7]
Quite a lot	1.9 [1.6–2.4]	9.5 [5.9–14.9]		10.9 [6.0–19.1]
Greatly at risk	1.1 [0.8–1.4]	4.9 [2.1–11.2]		5.3 [2.0–13.7]
AOR [95 % CI]^e	1.00	5.44 [3.26–9.08]	<0.001	6.42 [3.67–11.23]	<0.001
Sexual health outcomes
Sexual health clinic attendance, past year	14.1 [12.5–16]	33.0 [24.8–42.4]		31.9 [22.0–43.7]
AOR [95 % CI]^e	1.00	4.71 [2.58–8.58]	<0.001	4.53 [2.30–8.94]	<0.001
Tested for HIV, past year	3.4 [2.9–4]	17.0 [12.0–23.4]		21.7 [14.9–30.4]
AOR [95 % CI]^e	1.00	6.08 [3.92–9.41]	<0.001	9.44 [5.59–15.96]	<0.001
STI diagnosis, past year	0.9 [0.7–1.2]	4.9 [2.6–9.2]		6.3 [2.9–13.3]
AOR [95 % CI]^e	1.00	5.67 [2.67–12.04]	<0.001	7.85 [3.27–18.83]	<0.001
Lowest quintile of distribution of scores for Natsal-SF^f	19.7 [18.4–21.1]	36.2 [28.2–45.2]		28.0 [17.9–40.9]
AOR [95 % CI]^e	1.00	2.28 [1.57–3.33]	<0.001	1.60 [0.95–2.69]	0.079
Feel distressed/worried about sex life	10.2 [9.3–11.2]	14.1 [9.0–21.2]		12.7 [6.3–24.1]
AOR [95 % CI]^e	1.00	1.39 [0.85–2.27]	0.194	1.14 [0.57–2.29]	0.703
Sought professional help/advice for sex life, past year	7.1 [6.3–7.9]	16.5 [11.0–24.0]		14.2 [8.1–23.7]
AOR [95 % CI]^e	1.00	2.70 [1.65–4.42]	<0.001	3.04 [1.62–5.68]	0.001
Experienced attempted non-volitional sex, ever	4.3 [3.7–5.0]	22.8 [16.0–31.4]		24.6 [15.1–37.4]
AOR [95 % CI]^e	1.00	6.51 [4.22–10.06]	<0.001	6.30 [3.66–10.83]	<0.001

All estimates are age-standardised
^*p-value for comparing all MSM to MSEW
^**p-value for comparing MSM who identified as gay in Natsal-3 to MSEW. Note that MSM who identify as gay are a subset of all MSM
^aUnweighted, weighted denominators defined as participants who reported at least one sexual partner in the 5 years prior to interview
^bMSM who identified as gay in Natsal-3 are a subset of all MSM
^cPartners of either gender
^dAge-adjusted odds ratio (aAOR) for reporting response relative to MSEW
^eAOR - odds ratio for reporting response relative to MSEW adjusted for age, reporting recreational drug use, being treated depression (past year), educational attainment, smoking status, ethnicity, health condition that has affected sexual activity, and total partners numbers in the past 5 years
^fAmong men reporting sex in the past year [14]

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ISSN: 1471-2458

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