Associations between lifetime number of sexual partners and health outcomes in men and women
| Health outcome | n* | Lifetime number of sexual partners (% (SE))† | 2–4 | 5–9 | ≥10 | ||||||
| 0–1 | 2–4 | 5–9 | ≥10 | OR (95% CI)‡ | P value | OR (95% CI) | P value | OR (95% CI) | P value | ||
| Men | |||||||||||
| Fair/poor self-rated health | 2535 | 24.0 (1.3) | 23.5 (1.2) | 25.7 (1.5) | 28.8 (1.5) | 0.91 (0.69 to 1.20) | 0.481 | 1.00 (0.72 to 1.38) | 0.975 | 1.26 (0.91 to 1.74) | 0.173 |
| Limiting long-standing illness | 2537 | 29.7 (1.4) | 28.1 (1.3) | 33.4 (1.6) | 32.5 (1.6) | 0.84 (0.65 to 1.09) | 0.184 | 1.17 (0.87 to 1.57) | 0.289 | 1.09 (0.80 to 1.47) | 0.598 |
| Cancer | 2537 | 4.1 (0.8) | 7.0 (0.8) | 6.5 (1.0) | 6.9 (1.0) | 1.57 (1.02 to 2.42) | 0.039 | 1.50 (0.89 to 2.51) | 0.127 | 1.69 (1.01 to 2.83) | 0.047 |
| Coronary heart disease | 2537 | 11.0 (1.0) | 10.8 (1.0) | 10.2 (1.2) | 9.9 (1.2) | 1.03 (0.74 to 1.43) | 0.876 | 0.90 (0.60 to 1.37) | 0.634 | 0.89 (0.58 to 1.65) | 0.568 |
| Stroke | 2537 | 4.6 (0.7) | 2.7 (0.6) | 4.0 (0.8) | 4.5 (0.8) | 0.62 (0.36 to 1.07) | 0.084 | 0.86 (0.45 to 1.63) | 0.634 | 1.01 (0.54 to 1.92) | 0.967 |
| Women | |||||||||||
| Fair/poor self-rated health | 3185 | 24.5 (1.1) | 25.3 (1.1) | 27.4 (1.7) | 24.7 (2.4) | 1.12 [0.89 to 1.42) | 0.344 | 1.26 [0.91 to 1.74) | 0.161 | 0.94 [0.62 to 1.44) | 0.790 |
| Limiting long-standing illness | 3184 | 32.9 (1.2) | 34.9 (1.3) | 39.9 (1.9) | 41.8 (2.7) | 1.17 [0.95 to 1.45) | 0.137 | 1.64 [1.15 to 2.05) | 0.003 | 1.64 [1.15 to 2.35) | 0.007 |
| Cancer | 3185 | 4.8 (0.7) | 6.1 (0.7) | 6.1 (1.0) | 8.9 (1.5) | 1.35 [0.91 to 1.99) | 0.135 | 1.21 [0.71 to 2.08) | 0.482 | 1.91 [1.04 to 3.51) | 0.038 |
| Coronary heart disease | 3185 | 6.2 (0.7) | 7.5 (0.7) | 7.1 (1.1) | 5.0 (1.5) | 1.28 [0.90 to 1.82) | 0.178 | 1.06 [0.59 to 1.91) | 0.854 | 0.38 [0.13 to 1.12) | 0.080 |
| Stroke | 3185 | 3.0 (0.5) | 3.4 (0.5) | 4.5 (0.8) | 3.5 (1.1) | 1.19 [0.73 to 1.95) | 0.483 | 1.52 [0.76 to 3.06) | 0.241 | 1.18 [0.44 to 3.16) | 0.740 |
All percentages and odds ratios are adjusted for age, partnership status, ethnicity, wealth, smoking status, alcohol intake, physical activity and depressive symptoms, and weighted for sampling probabilities and differential non-response.
*Unweighted sample sizes.
†Percentage (with standard error (SE)) reporting health problem.
‡Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for reporting health problem relative to the group who had had 0–1 sexual partners.