Background: Condom-less sex can increase the risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV.
Aim: To characterize the prevalence of condom use at the most recent sex act and identify factors associated with use of a condom at the most recent sex act in adults in the United States.
Methods: Data from the cross-sectional National Survey of Family Growth from cycles 2006 through 2010 and 2011 through 2013 were analyzed for sexually active men and women 18 to 44 years old who reported having sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) with an opposite-sex partner in the past 12 months. HIV-related sexual risk behaviors (SRBs) in the past 12 months included sex with at least four opposite-sex partners; exchanging sex for money or drugs; sex with an injection drug user; sex with an HIV-positive person; sex with a man who previously had sex with a man (women only); sex with a man (men only); or sex with a partner who had sex with other partners.
Outcomes: The outcome for this analysis was condom use at the most recent anal or vaginal sex act.
Results: Overall prevalence of condom use was 24.8%; only 33.8% of adults with at least one SRB reported the use of a condom. Only 46.4% of unmarried or single men (vs 14.7% married or cohabitating men) and 32.3% unmarried or single women (vs 14.1% married or cohabitating women) with SRBs reported using a condom at the most recent sexual encounter and were less likely to use a condom at the most recent sexual encounter compared with those who did not report SRBs. We did not find a significant relation between using a condom and SRBs in married or cohabitating men and women.
Strengths and limitations: Our analysis adds to the literature on how condom use varies by marital status. We measured the use of condoms at the most recent sexual act, which might not reflect an individual's previous behavior of condom use. Nonetheless, condom use at the most recent sexual act has been documented in previous studies as a valid proxy of condom use over time.
Conclusion: Continued efforts are needed to promote condom use in heterosexual adults in the United States, particularly those at high risk for HIV, namely individuals engaging in anal sexual acts and with multiple sex partners. Nasrullah M, Oraka E, Chavez PR, et al. Factors Associated With Condom Use Among Sexually Active US Adults, National Survey of Family Growth, 2006-2010 and 2011-2013. J Sex Med 2017;14:541-550.
Keywords: Condom; HIV; Risk Behaviors.
Published by Elsevier Inc.