Male Sexual Health and Sexual Behaviors during the First National COVID-19 Lockdown in a Western Country: A Real-Life, Web-Based Study

• Published in: Sexes Vol. 2; no. 3; pp. 293 - 304
• Main Authors: Sansone, Andrea, Mollaioli, Daniele, Cignarelli, Angelo, Ciocca, Giacomo, Limoncin, Erika, Colonnello, Elena, Balercia, Giancarlo, Reisman, Yacov, Jannini, Emmanuele A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Valparaiso MDPI AG 01-09-2021
• Subjects: Brand names; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; dapoxetine; Disease; Erectile dysfunction; google trends; Keywords; Pandemics; phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors; Population; premature ejaculation; Search strategies; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Sexual behavior; Sexual health; Shelter in place; Statistical analysis; Stress; Trends; Italy
• ISSN: 2411-5118; 2411-5118
• DOI: 10.3390/sexes2030023

Restriction measures enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic had severe effects on male sexual and reproductive health. We aimed to investigate the real-life impact and perception of sexual function in 2020 in Italy, as the first Western country experiencing a national lockdown by measuring relative search volume for keywords pertaining to sexual health and behaviors provided by Google Trends and sales data for pro-erectile treatments. No significant change was observed for erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation. Interest towards most phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors decreased significantly during lockdown (e.g., sildenafil, p = 0.0002; tadalafil p = 0.0016), then reverted to pre-lockdown levels (e.g., sildenafil, p < 0.0001; tadalafil p < 0.0001), mirroring a concomitant sales decrement (p = 0.0292). A subsequent recovery to previous levels at the end of the social confinement was also found (e.g., after vs. before lockdown, sildenafil, p = 0.8459; tadalafil p = 0.1166). During lockdown, interest towards pornography significantly increased during restrictions (p = 0.0053) and remained high (after vs. before lockdown, p = 0.0004), whereas interest towards paid and casual sex declined (p = 0.0015 and p = 0.049, respectively), then reverted to previous levels (after vs. before lockdown, p = 0.3969 and 0.8373, respectively). During the first Italian lockdown, we observed a transient but measurable decrease of sexual health-seeking behaviors and changes in sexual behaviors, with unknown impact for sexual medicine and public health.