(049) Project SEXUS – Baseline Findings from a Nationwide Cohort Study on Sexual Behavior and Health in Denmark

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Project SEXUS (www.projectsexus.dk) is a nationwide cohort study on sexual behavior and health in Denmark that was initiated in 2017 by two state research institutions. The aim of this presentation is to introduce the methodology of the study and to present key findings from its baseline data collection. Objective The objectives of the Project SEXUS study were 1) to provide a thorough insight into the sexual landscapes of the general Danish population, 2) to shed light on the sexual health of understudied groups such as elderly people, chronically ill individuals and LGBT+ persons and 3) to investigate the interplay between sex lives, lifestyles and general health. Methods The cohort was created using a probability-based sampling frame, and the questionnaire comprised more than 600 items, including brief versions of validated measurement instruments such as the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Due to strategic filter questions, the median number of items addressed by respondents was 180. Between September 2017 and August 2018, 187,084 Danes aged 15-89 years were invited to participate in the study by filling out an online questionnaire. 64,706 individuals gave complete or almost-complete responses (AAPOR response rate 1: 34.6%). Individual weighting procedures ensured exact national representativeness regarding sex, birth year, region of residence, marital status, cultural background and twin status, and logistic regression analyses provided age-adjusted odds ratios as measures of relative risk at baseline. Results Based on complete and validated questionnaire data from 62,675 participants, key findings concerning sexual orientation, needs, experiences, satisfaction and current behaviors will be presented, and various dimensions of sexual health in the Danish population will be discussed. Moreover, topics such as relationship satisfaction, pornography consumption, risky sexual behavior, body contentment and childhood gender non-conformity will be addressed. Further, noteworthy associations between general and sexual lifestyles and health will be emphasized, and main findings regarding general and sexual wellbeing in strata of different sexual and gender identities will be shown. Conclusions The presented baseline findings from Project SEXUS provide a detailed account of the sex life situation in contemporary Denmark. Due to its huge size, national representativeness and ability to follow individual cohort members over time through identity-secure linkage with information in national health registers, the study offers internationally unique opportunities for detailed prospective assessments of the complex interplay between sex life, lifestyles and health. This is of obvious relevance to sexologists, sexual health promoters and general health-care providers around the world. Disclosure No