Posted on 02/20/2020 12:20:23 PM PST by fwdude
A history of 10 or more lifetime sexual partners is linked to a heightened risk of being diagnosed with cancer, reveals research published online in the journal BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health.
And among women, a higher number of sexual partners is also linked to heightened odds of reporting a limiting long term condition, the findings indicate.
Few studies have looked at the potential impact of the number of sexual partners on wider health outcomes.
To try and plug this knowledge gap, the researchers drew on information gathered for the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), a nationally representative tracking study of older adults (50+) living in England.
In 2012-13, participants were asked how many sexual partners they had had. Complete data were provided by 5722 of the 7079 people who responded to this question: 2537 men and 3185 women. Responses were categorised as 0-1; 2-4; 5-9; and 10 or more sexual partners.
Participants were also asked to rate their own health and report any long standing condition or infirmity which impinged on routine activity in any way.
Other relevant information obtained included: age; ethnicity; marital status; household income other than a pension; lifestyle (smoking, drinking, physical activity); and presence of depressive symptoms.
The average age of participants was 64, and almost three out of four were married. Some 28.5% of men said they had had 0-1 sexual partners to date; 29% said they had had 2-4; one in five (20%) reported 5-9; while 22% reported 10 or more.
The equivalent figures for women were: just under 41%; 35.5%; just under 16%; and just under 8%.
In both sexes, a higher number of sexual partners was associated with younger age, single status, and being in the highest or lowest brackets of household wealth.
Those who reported a higher tally of sexual partners were also more likely to smoke, drink frequently, and do more vigorous physical activity on a weekly basis.
When all the data were analysed, a statistically significant association emerged between the number of lifetime sexual partners and risk of a cancer diagnosis among both sexes.
Compared with women who reported 0-1 sexual partners, those who said they had had 10 or more, were 91% more likely to have been diagnosed with cancer.
Among the men, those who reported 2-4 lifetime sexual partners were 57% more likely to have been diagnosed with cancer than were those who reported 0-1. And those who reported 10 or more, were 69% more likely to have been diagnosed with the disease.
While the number of sexual partners was not associated with reported long standing conditions among the men, it was among the women.
Women who reported 5-9 or 10+ lifetime sexual partners were 64% more likely to have a limiting chronic condition than those who said they had had 0-1.
This is an observational study, and as such, can't establish cause. Nevertheless, the findings chime with those of previous studies, implicating sexually transmitted infections in the development of several types of cancer and hepatitis, suggest the researchers.
They didn't obtain information on the specific types of cancer participants reported, but speculate: "...the heightened risk of cancer might be driven by those types known to be associated with [sexually transmitted infections]."
And they suggest that enquiring about the number of sexual partners might complement existing cancer screening programmes by helping to identify those at risk, if further research can establish a causal association between the number of sexual partners and subsequent ill health.
But an explanation for the gender difference in long term condition risk remains "elusive," they write, especially given that men tend to have more lifetime sexual partners than women, while women are more likely than men to see a doctor when they feel ill, so potentially limiting the associated consequences for their long term health.
There was a deleted scene in When Harry Met Sally that I thought should have been included.
[Harry]: How many men have you slept with?
[Sally]: I’m not going to tell you that!
[Harry]: Alright, fine. Really, don’t tell me.
[Sally]: (thinking a while) Two.
[Harry]: Two. Two. You’ve been with two people and you’re telling me based on these two people that you know whether or not you’ve had great sex.
[Sally]: How many have you?
[Harry]: I don’t know.
[Sally]: What do you mean you don’t know?
[Harry]: I don’t know.
[Sally]: Is it between zero and three, four and ten, or ten and a hundred?
[Harry]: Ten and a hundred.
[Sally]: Is it closer to 10 or closer to a hundred?
[Harry] (Thinks intensely for a long several seconds) A hundred.
Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!
What did Wilt Chamberlain die of?
I stand at 10. Had it not been for my ex-wife demanding a divorce,the count would only have been 5. . . I was single a long, long time.
If I come down with cancer, I will blame her. And most likely, she is responsible for at least one of my 2 heart attacks. . . a contentious woman absolutely will kill you.
So many I lost count. I led a very hedonistic lifestyle in my younger days. Not real proud of it in later life. Lot’s of regrets. My wife would faint if she knew.
Giving my wife some cancer due to a hidden or dormant hpv is always in the back of my mind though I had myself tested years ago and I was clear.
Like I said lots of regrets now.
My favorite such correlation study was long ago and found that children who drank milk was correlated to being a bully. Well they thought that something in the milk caused violence. Actually, what they were likely measuring was the bullies were bigger and stronger than their peers and better nutrition is often correlated to youth body size.
I suspect that in the study about sex partners, that there is another variable that is perhaps more important. That variable is risky lifestyle choices. If you make risky lifestyle choices you probably have more sex partners and probably drink more do more drugs and don't eat as nutritious a diet.
Ball park it. I want to gauge it to my relative life in a convent.
When you have zero sexual partners you have no chance of catching something. If you have one you both probably had zero before so you still have a close to zero chance of catching something. Add in a second and your chances just more then doubled. He has two partners and she had two and their partners had partners....
Plus, when you have sex with more than one person, you are probably having sex with people who have sex with a lot of other people, and are having sex with ALL OF THEM by proxy.
Will they make doctors ask about this?
I hope not...................
But an explanation for the gender difference in long term condition risk remains “elusive
Obviously, more introduction of bacteria and viruses into you basically at random would expose you to more chances of sickness, both acute and chronic. Less exposure, less chance.
I think they are on to something because if you notice the 10+ men and 10+ women, there are many more men than women meaning... the 10+ men comprise the bathhouse and public restroom cruisers and men doing the same women.
Is 10 a slow night in a gay bathhouse?
The study seems more like a master’s thesis than anything else.
That being said I am certain that there are far more insidious, slow acting STDs than the medical profession is aware of. Every dip of the pen in a new inkwell, as delightful as it is, has inherent risks.
I am not advising giving up on ‘writing’ it rather warning authors to chose the subjects of their prose judiciously.
“also more likely to smoke, drink frequently, and do more vigorous physical activity”
Heheh.
Immoral people do immoral things, AND other trendy cool & hip things that people in the old days didn’t do at all (”exercise”).
Huh?! Men accounted for 81% of new HIV diagnoses in 2017, and that’s typical. Of course, you probably are referring to the type of sexual behavior. Of course, penile intercourse (insertive) with an infected partner is a lot less risky, but I think we both know the vector this disease overwhelmingly prefers.
I also think that choice of sex partners also influences risk. I think only one or two of mine were all that active in terms of number of partners. It's not like I had sex with 10 crack whores.
Ron Jeremy isn’t suffering from cancer is he?
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