Modern moral norms and scientific progress make people feel free in all possible ways. Maybe even a little too free. A study suggests that more than 10 sex partners in a lifetime may be too many.
In the past, people generally had fewer sexual partners during their lifetime. Well, at least for most. The perception of morality formed by religions and social norms seemed to point to a person’s life plan – to find a partner, get married, give birth to many children. However, these norms have changed dramatically since then, in part due to modern contraception and the gender equality movement.
More freedom is good, of course, but scientists believe it can also have negative consequences. As part of a study conducted in the UK, 2,537 men and 3,185 women over the age of 50 were surveyed.
The researchers were most interested in the health status of these people and the total number of sexual partners. According to the last indicator, the study participants were divided into several groups: respondents have had 0-1, 2-4, 5-9 and 10 or more sex partners during their lifetime. The average age of the participants was 64, and three-quarters of them were married.
28.5 percent of men admitted that they had had 0-1 sex partner, 29% were classified as 2-4 partners, 20% as 5-9, and 22% had slept with 10 or more people in their lifetime.
The results for women were quite different – 41 percent of women had slept with 0-1 partner during their lifetime, 35.5 percent with 2-4 men, 16% with 5-9 partners and 8 percent of women had 10 or more sex partners.
Younger participants (that is, those in their 50s) tended to have a higher number of partners. Those who had more sexual partners smoked more often, drank alcohol regularly, but also exercised more.
When all the data was compiled, a clear and disturbing connection was found between the number of sexual partners and cancer.
Women who had 10 or more partners in their lifetime faced a 91% higher risk of cancer than those who had no more than 1 partner.
On the other hand, men who had more partners faced a correspondingly 69% higher risk of cancer. It is very important to mention that a 91% higher risk does not mean that the woman has an extremely high chance of developing cancer (for example, the difference between 0.2 and 0.381 is 91%).
Signs that clearly show that you have an unsuitable sex partner