Sexual behaviour

Abstract 

Recognition of sexual behaviours and needs is essential for all doctors in diagnosis, care after major illness, and humane management of social needs. The majority of adults are heterosexually active from adolescence into old age, while a minority of individuals have homosexual relationships throughout their lives, or during shorter periods. Among adults aged 16–44 years, a third of men and a fifth of women report a new partnership in the past year, and this proportion is higher among younger adults and men who have sex with men (MSM). Anal intercourse is practised by a significant minority of heterosexuals, as well as among MSM for whom it is a major route of HIV transmission. A small minority of individuals have large numbers of partners (a ‘core group’), and contribute disproportionately to the transmission of STIs and HIV. Behavioural interventions to reduce sexual risk among MSM can be effective, as in other groups, but attention to wider social determinants is also important in controlling STI and HIV transmission.

Keywords: heterosexual, homosexual, sexual behaviour