Contraceptive use in Italian young adults in 2013 and 2017/18

Abstract

Abstract Background Investigations regarding knowledge and utilization of contraception for the prevention of unwanted pregnancies as well as of sexually transmitted diseases are carried out regularly in low- and middle-income countries. The same might not happen in high-income countries, were these topics could be regarded with less priority. We aimed to asses trends in contraception use among young adults in Italy. Methods From the Italian Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) Survey on Health Status and Use of Health Care, we collected aggregated data on contraception use among Italians aged 18 to 24 years old, by sex, for the year 2013. From the National Fertility Study of the Italian Higher Institute of Health (ISS) we collected aggregated data on contraception use among a nationally representative sample of Italian university students with a mean age of 22 years old, for both sexes, for years 2017 and 2018. We compared the estimates of prevalence of use of different contraceptives across the two surveys, utilizing, for the 2013 survey, the mean of the results for the two sexes. Results The use of at least one type of contraceptive grew from 89.3% in 2013 to 95.0% in 2017-2018, while the use of condoms increased from 69.7% in 2013 to 71.2% in 2017-2018. The use of coitus interruptus increased as well from 15.9% in 2013 to 24.0% in 2017-2018. The use of modern contraceptive methods was not comparable across the two surveys. Conclusions The two surveys from 2013 and 2017-2018 were not comparable for all the estimates of contraception use. While the prevalence of use of at least one type of contraceptive and of condoms increased from 2013 to 2017-2018, the contemporary increase of use of coitus interruptus raises some concerns. There is a need for reproducible surveys conducted at shorter intervals, and also for investigating trends in access and utilization of medical counselling about contraception, especially among young adults. Key messages Use of any kind of contraceptive and of condoms has slightly increased in Italy from 2013 to 2017-2018, but in the same period the use of coitus interruptus increased by around 8%. Surveillance systems for contraception use in Italy should be strengthened through regular surveys with reproducible methods, including assessments of medical counselling about contraception.