Table 1.
Characteristics of included studies
| First author | Year | Country | Data collection method | Instrument | Number of participants | Age | Main finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Li | 2020 | China | Online survey | Self-management surveys via social media platforms | 459 (270 men and 189 women) | 15–45 Years |
- 44% decrease in the number of sexual partners − 37% of participants reported a decrease in sexual frequency. -Rapid reduction in risky sexual behavior in individuals with risky sexual experiences − 25% reduction in sexual desire - Increased sexual desire in 18% of men and 8% of women - decrease in the frequency of sexual activities in 36% of married men and 28% of married women - reduction in sexual satisfaction in 32% of men and 39% of women |
| Yuksel | 2020 | Turkey | Online survey | FSFI | 58 Women | 27.6 ± 4.4 |
- Increased average frequency of sexual intercourse (2.4 vs 1.9, P = 0.001). Participants had significantly better FSFI scores before the pandemic compared with scores during the pandemic (20.52 vs 17.56, P = 0.001). |
| Fang | 2020 | China | Online survey | IIEF-5, PEDT | 251 Men | 28 (24–35) |
−8.4% reported a deteriorated erectile function, 8.5% reported a decrease in ejaculation control - Decreased 31.9% IIEF-5 scores and 17.9% increased PEDT scores - Decreased frequency of sexual life - No changes in their erectile function |
| Samir Omar | 2021 | Egypt | Online survey | IIEF-5, FSFI | 696 (479 females and 217 males) | 25–35 |
- Higher sexual satisfaction before lockdown −70.5% males and 56.2% females satisfied with their sexual performance −68.2% male no erectile dysfunction −97.3% females scored 26.5 on the FSFI |
| Jacob | 2020 | The United Kingdom | Online survey | Self-made questionnaire | 868 (men and women) | 25–34 |
−39.9% of the persons reported sexual activity at least once per week. - prevalence of sexual activity was lower than 40%. - sexual activities higher in men than in women |
| Mahanty | 2020 | India | Online survey | Self-made questionnaire | 262(men and women) | NA |
-Frequency of sexual activities higher in women than man. - In women lower frequency of watching porn |
| Ballester-Arnal | 2020 | Spain | Online survey | Self-made questionnaire | 1448 (471 men and 977 women) | 18–60 |
−37.9% reported worsening of their sexual life − 35.9% stated that they had a higher sexual desire during confinement, 34.9% had a lower desire and 29.1% unchanged. - Men report higher traditional masturbation and online sexual activity than women |
| Cem Bulut | 2020 | Turkey | Online survey | IES-R, IIEF-5 | 359 men | NA | -Decreased sexual function in healthcare professionals. |
| Baran | 2020 | Turkey | Online survey | IIEF-5 | 536 men | 38.6 ± 10.3 | - Decrease in sexual desire in 25% of the participants |
| Kaya | 2020 | Turkey | Telephone interview | FSFI | 15 women | 33.3 ± 5.6 | - Decreased frequency of sexual intercourse and sexual satisfaction |
| Fuchs | 2020 | Poland | Online survey | FSFI | 764 women | 25.1 ± 4.3 |
- Decreased frequency of sexual intercourse −3.2% women feared that COVID-19 could be transmitted during sexual activity |
| Yasir Arafat | 2020 | Bangladesh, India & Nepal) | Online survey | Self-made questionnaire | 120 (93 men, 26 women and 1 person, not to say) | 35.42 ± 5.73 |
−76.7% of respondents had sexual intercourse with their spouse 1 to 5 times a week before COVID-19 −45% of the respondents said that the COVID-19 had impact on their sexual activity. − 72.5% of respondents reported after COVID-19, to have sexual intercourse 1 to 5 times a week. |
| Schiavi | 2020 | Italy | FSFI, FSDS | 89 women | 39 (28–50) | -Sexual intercourses decreased significantly from 6.3 to 2.3 | |
| Li | 2020 | China | Social media | WeChat or Weibo | 967 (541 men and 426 women) | 26.6 ± 4.86 |
−22% reported a decrease in sexual desire - 41% experienced a decrease in the sexual intercourse frequency - 30% reported an increase in the frequency of masturbation −10% reported a decrease in risky sexual behavior |
| Feng | 2020 | China | Online survey | Self-made questionnaire | 284 (134 men and 150 women) | 18–44 |
−17.6% felt the number of sexual partners has reduced. −43.3% reported decreased sexual frequency and 44 reported an increase with those before the COVID-19. - 25.0% of the participants experienced reduction in sexual desire, and 19.0% experienced an increase. −21.5% suggested that sexual satisfaction has reduced. − 43.3% reported a decrease in sexual frequency. |
| Luetke | 2020 | USA | Online survey | Self-made questionnaire | 2261 (1119 men, 1142 women) | NA |
- Decreased frequency of sexual intercourse -Decreased solo masturbation -Decreased partnered masturbation |
| Karagöz | 2020 | Turkey | Online survey | IIEF-5, FSFI | 245 volunteers (148 men and 97 women) | 35.9 ± 6.9 |
-Increase in solitary sexual activity (masturbation or watching sexual content videos - Decreased frequency of sexual activities -Decreased sexual satisfaction levels |
| De Rose | 2021 | Italy | Online survey | IIEF-5, FSFI | 544 (260 men, 284 women) | 31 |
−65.3% reported a decreased sexual desire, in health care workers it waas lower than in non- Health care Workers - 91.2% reported a decrease in Satisfaction sexual, in health care workers this was lower than in non- Health care Workers |
| Coombe | 2020 | Australia | Online survey | Online survey |
920 (247 men, 673 women) We excluded men who have sex with men and women who have sex with women (40 participants) |
NA |
- Sex activities in 2019 were higher than during lockdown -Increase in using sex toys |
| Cocci | 2020 | Italy | Online survey | Self-made questionnaire | 1515 men and women | 21 |
- 15.91% no sexual desire and 4.22% less sexual desire than before COVID-19 - 60.79% see porn movies during the COVID-19 - 53.53% no sexual satisfaction |
| Karsiyakali | 2020 | Turkey | Online survey | Self-made questionnaire, FSFI, IIEF-5 | 1356 (671 men and 685 women) | 33.16 ± 8.31 |
-Decrease in the mean number of sexual activity from 1.86 ± 1.67 to 1.35 ± 2.04 after COVID- 19 -Increase in masturbation frequency from 1.25 ± 1.63 per week to 1.57 ± 2.11 −31.5% participants reported reduction in the number of weekly sexual Intercourses |
FSFI: Female Sexual Function Index, IIEF-5: International Index of Erectile Function-5 items scores, PEDT: Premature ejaculation diagnostic tool scores, IES-R: Impact of Event Scale-Revised, NA: Not applicable