Science of Sex #3: “Anal Intercourse and Fecal Incontinence […]”

Hi everybody !
Here is some news from the scientific literature devoted to the science of sexuality !

Anal sex is a subject of controversy: "impure" practice, painful intercourse with a high risk of transmission of STD ... However, the “mechanical risk” on the anal sphincter is poorly studied by medical science.

The goal of this work published in February 2016 in The American journal of gastroenterology by US researchers was to assess the prevalence and associations between anal intercourse and fecal incontinence.
This work found that “Fecal incontinence rates were higher among women (9.9 vs. 7.4%, P=0.05) and men (11.6 vs. 5.3%, P=0.03) reporting anal intercourse compared with those not reporting anal intercourse. […]The findings support the assessment of anal intercourse as a factor contributing to fecal incontinence in adults, especially among men.”.

This study has a good methodology and has included many people (over 4000 !). However, it separates people practicing or not practicing anal sex whereas there are probably several levels of practice with parameters that can influence the risk of incontinence: age, frequency and duration of anal intercourses, previous history of recto-anal diseases, penetrating "object" diameter (it seems logical that a large object/penis and that a prolonged intercourse increase the risk).

Finally, this study does not really prove a causal link between anal sex and incontinence. But, like many other good things, anal sex is probably to be consumed with moderation !

The link to the scientific abstract of the present article (which I encourage you to read if the topic interests you): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26753893

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See you soon !

Dr Tom @sex-info

(image from www.9gag.com)