Table 4.
Health behaviours and 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
| MSEW | All MSM | MSM who identified as gayb | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denominators: a | 5069, 6257 | 190, 191 | 107, 99 | ||
| % [95 % CI] | % [95 % CI] | p-value* | % [95 % CI] | p-value** | |
| Health behaviours | |||||
| Usual alcohol consumption more than recommended levelsc | 8.8 [8–9.8] | 11.4 [7.2–17.6] | 10.3 [5.7–18.0] | ||
| aAOR [95 % CI]e | 1.00 | 1.43 [0.87–2.36] | 0.156 | 1.67 [0.87–3.21] | 0.125 |
| Usual frequency of binge drinkingd | |||||
| Never or rarely | 60.7 [59.1–62.3] | 54.0 [44.9–62.9] | 58.6 [48–68.5] | ||
| Monthly | 17.5 [16.4–18.8] | 24.9 [17.3–34.4] | 25.4 [16.6–36.8] | ||
| Weekly or daily | 21.7 [20.4–23.1] | 21.1 [15.1–28.7] | 16.0 [9.9–24.8] | ||
| aAOR [95 % CI]e,f | 1.00 | 0.99 [0.66–1.49] | 0.972 | 0.84 [0.49–1.45] | 0.535 |
| Smoking status | |||||
| Never | 47.2 [45.6–48.9] | 29.5 [22.7–37.4] | 30.2 [21.5–40.6] | ||
| Ex-smoker | 25.9 [24.5–27.4] | 32.6 [25.2–41] | 38.9 [28.8–49.9] | ||
| Current smoker | 26.8 [25.4–28.3] | 37.9 [30–46.4] | 30.9 [22.1–41.4] | ||
| aAOR [95 % CI]e,f | 1.00 | 1.72 [1.21–2.45] | 0.003 | 1.37 [0.87–2.16] | 0.173 |
| Recreational drug use, past year | |||||
| None | 84.3 [83.2–85.3] | 64.0 [56–71.3] | 59.1 [47.4–69.9] | ||
| Cannabis only | 9.1 [8.3–9.9] | 10.2 [6.1–16.7] | 8.1 [3.2–19] | ||
| Cannabis and/or other drugs | 6.7 [6.0–7.4] | 25.8 [19.3–33.6] | 32.8 [23.9–43.2] | ||
| aAOR [95 % CI]e,f | 1.00 | 3.46 [2.22–5.40] | <0.001 | 4.18 [2.33–7.49] | <0.001 |
| Injecting drug use, ever | 1.3 [1.0–1.7] | 0.7 [0.2–2.8] | 0.8 [0.1–5.4] | ||
| aAOR [95 % CI]e | 1.00 | 0.49 [0.11–2.08] | 0.332 | 0.53 [0.07–3.90] | 0.529 |
| Taken any medications that have limited your sexual activity or enjoyment, past year | 7.8 [7.0–8.7] | 16.8 [11.3–24.2] | 21.5 [12.8–33.9] | ||
| aAOR [95 % CI]e | 1.00 | 2.56 [1.57–4.19] | <0.001 | 3.24 [1.77–5.94] | <0.001 |
| Health outcomes | |||||
| Self-reported health status [‘bad’/‘very bad’]g | 3.1 [2.7–3.7] | 5.2 [2.7–9.7] | 9.5 [4.1–20.5] | ||
| aAOR [95 % CI]e | 1.00 | 1.67 [0.88–3.18] | 0.117 | 2.23 [0.99–5.01] | 0.052 |
| ≥1 long-standing illness/disability/infirmity | 29.9 [28.5–31.4] | 38.1 [30.8–45.9] | 44.1 [34.7–53.9] | ||
| aAOR [95 % CI]e | 1.00 | 1.46 [1.02–2.09] | 0.041 | 1.65 [1.03–2.67] | 0.039 |
| Number of chronic conditionsh | |||||
| 0 | 68.7 [67.2–70.1] | 66 [57.5–73.6] | 58.4 [50.4–65.9] | ||
| 1 | 20.6 [19.3–22.0] | 20.2 [14.0–28.2] | 22.7 [13.6–35.4] | ||
| ≥2 | 10.7 [9.8–11.8] | 13.8 [8.8–21.0] | 18.9 [11.0–30.7] | ||
| aAOR [95 % CI]e,f | 1.00 | 1.16 [0.75–1.81] | 0.67 | 1.31 [0.79–2.18] | 0.293 |
| Body Mass Indexi | |||||
| Healthy: 18.5–24.9 kg/m2 | 40.6 [39.1–42.1] | 46.1 [37.2–55.2] | 47.5 [35.8–59.5] | ||
| Underweight: <18.5 kg/m 2 | 1.1 [0.9–1.5] | 2.7 [1.3–5.3] | 2.4 [0.9–6.1] | ||
| Overweight: 25–30 kg/m 2 | 40.0 [38.4–41.6] | 28.4 [21.1–36.9] | 37.3 [26.9–49.0] | ||
| Obese: >30 kg/m2 | 18.3 [16.5–20.3] | 22.9 [13.5–38.2] | 12.8 [4.6–29.6] | ||
| aAOR [95 % CI]e,f | 1.00 | 0.77 [0.54–1.11] | 0.156 | 0.68 [0.44–1.07] | 0.094 |
| Screened positive for depression at interviewj | 8.9 [8.1–9.8] | 8.9 [5.5–14.3] | 6.4 [3.5–11.7] | ||
| aAOR [95 % CI]e | 1.00 | 1.03 [0.62–1.70] | 0.909 | 0.92 [0.48–1.77] | 0.797 |
| Received treatment for depression from a health professional, past year | 5.8 [5.1–6.5] | 14.0 [9.2–20.5] | 19.9 [11.9–31.4] | ||
| aAOR [95 % CI]e | 1.00 | 2.75 [1.69–4.47] | <0.001 | 4.03 [2.30–7.07] | <0.001 |
| Any health condition/disability that has affected sexual activity/enjoyment, past year | 15.3 [14.2–16.5] | 27.1 [19.9–35.7] | 29.3 [19.2–42.1] | ||
| aAOR [95 % CI]e | 1.00 | 2.24 [1.48–3.39] | <0.001 | 2.57 [1.52–4.37] | <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
cDefined as usual alcohol consumption greater than recommended levels of 21 units per week [34]
dDefined as usually drinking more than 8 units of alcohol on one occasion [34]
eaAOR = age-adjusted odds ratio
fAge-adjusted odds ratio for reporting the responses in bold font [for those variables with >2 response options] relative to MSEW
gIn contrast to reporting ‘very good’, ‘good’, or ‘fair’
hMeasure of comorbidity includes arthritis, heart attack, coronary heart disease, angina, other forms of heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, broken hip or pelvis bone or hip replacement ever, backache lasting >3 months, any other muscle or bone disease lasting >3 months, cancer, and any thyroid condition treated in the past year [4]
iBody Mass Index thresholds as per National Obesity Observatory/Public Health England [35]