Research Notes

Americans claim to have the most sex, study says

American adults ages 16 to 25 had the most amount of sex this year, according to a global survey by SSL International.

The survey, which was distributed to 18,000 young adults, found that people globally are having sex 96 times a year.

Americans are having the most sex with an average of 132 times a year, followed by the Russians at 122, the French at 121 and the Greeks at 115.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Japanese are having the least amount of sex at 37 times a year, followed by Malaysians at 62 times a year and the Chinese at 69 times a year. The survey also found that Americans lost their virginity at the earliest age.

The average American age was 16.4, followed by the Brazilians at 16.5 and the French at 16.8. The French were the global leaders in the number of sexual partners, claiming to have an average of 16.7 each. The Greeks were second with 15 partners each, followed by the Brazilians at 12.5 and Americans at 11.8 partners. The survey also showed that 61 percent of those age 16 to 20 and 52 percent of those age 21 to 24 preferred condoms for contraception. Thirteen percent of all respondents said they used no form of contraception.

Doctors believe physician assisted executions ethical

A study published in the Oct. 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine found that many doctors feel it is ethical to assist in executions.

Neil Farber of the Christiana Care Health System in Wilmington, Delaware sent out surveys to physicians asking their opinions regarding physician assisted executions.

The questions were based on the American Medical Association's eight guidelines on actions they consider to be unethical in regard to executions. These include the administration of lethal drugs and the monitoring of vital signs during an execution.

Fifty-three percent of nearly 500 doctors who responded to the survey said they disagreed with at least five of the actions, while 34 percent disagreed with all eight of the guidelines.

The study also found that 18 percent of the doctors favored the death penalty under all circumstances, 57 percent said it would depend on the situation and 52 percent believed that the death penalty lowers the murder rate.

Lesbians as likely to transmit STDs as heterosexuals

Katherine Fethers of the Sexual Health Unit in Alice Springs, Australia, found that lesbians were just as likely to transmit hepatitis and genital herpes.

The study also found that women who have sex with only other women were more likely to engage in riskier behavior than heterosexual women. Fethers and her team compared the medical histories and sexual behavior of 1,408 lesbians and 1,423 heterosexual women who attended a sexual health clinic in Sydney between March 1991 and December 1998.

All the women with a history of having sex with a woman were compared to women who had never had sexual relations with a female partner.

While seven percent of the homosexual women had sexual relationships with only women, the study also found that lesbians were more likely to have had a sexual relationship with a homosexual or bisexual male. The study was published in the October issue of the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.

- Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Lindsey Alpert from wire reports.