Summary Globally, unsafe sex was the 13th-leading risk factor among Level 2 risks in terms of DALYs in 2019. It was the leading Level 2 risk in females aged 15–49 and ranked 11th among males in that age group.

Definition Unsafe sex is defined as the risk of disease due to sexual transmission. Unsafe sex includes 100% of cervical cancer and STIs apart from those congenitally acquired, and a fraction of HIV based on data reporting the proportion of HIV incidence through sexual transmission.

Total sources
Exposure 948
Relative risk 0
Table 1: Total sources used in GBD 2019 estimation
What is new in GBD 2019?
  • •Data for estimating the proportion of HIV attributable to unsafe sex were split by age and sex using the estimated inverse age-sex pattern of injection drug use. In previous GBD rounds, only the inverse age pattern was used, and sex-splitting occurred within DisMod-MR.
Deaths
YLLs
YLDs
DALYs
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
2019
Both Sexes
0·984 (0·905
to 1·11)
12·0 (11·0
to 13·5)
42·0 (37·4
to 49·1)
513·8 (455·1
to 603·6)
4·65 (3·30
to 6·22)
57·0 (40·5
to 76·2)
46·6 (41·9
to 53·5)
570·8 (510·2
to 658·1)
Females
0·648 (0·591
to 0·721)
15·5 (14·1
to 17·3)
26·5 (23·6
to 30·4)
645·7 (571·7
to 747·5)
2·90 (2·05
to 3·94)
71·3 (50·3
to 97·0)
29·4 (26·3
to 33·5)
717·1 (641·0
to 822·4)
Males
0·336 (0·302
to 0·391)
8·2 (7·3
to 9·5)
15·5 (13·6
to 18·6)
379·1 (329·5
to 454·9)
1·75 (1·22
to 2·38)
42·7 (29·9
to 58·2)
17·3 (15·4
to 20·3)
421·8 (374·1
to 497·1)
Percentage change 2010-19
Both Sexes
–25·0% (–29·5
to –20·2)
–35·0% (–38·4
to –31·4)
–30·4% (–34·2
to –25·7)
–38·5% (–41·4
to –34·8)
2·9% (–12·3
to 14·9)
–8·6% (–22·2
to 2·0)
–28·1% (–32·2
to –24·0)
–36·4% (–39·5
to –33·0)
Females
–24·0% (–29·0
to –18·6)
–35·0% (–38·8
to –30·9)
–31·3% (–35·7
to –26·2)
–39·6% (–43·0
to –35·6)
3·4% (–12·9
to 15·4)
–8·1% (–22·7
to 2·7)
–28·9% (–33·3
to –24·5)
–37·5% (–40·9
to –33·9)
Males
–27·0% (–30·9
to –22·0)
–35·7% (–38·7
to –31·9)
–29·0% (–32·5
to –24·5)
–36·6% (–39·4
to –32·9)
2·1% (–11·9
to 14·4)
–9·4% (–21·8
to 1·2)
–26·7% (–30·3
to –22·4)
–34·6% (–37·5
to –31·0)
Numbers in parentheses are 95% uncertainty intervals.
Table 2: Attributable global deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs in counts and age-standardised rates for both sexes combined, females, and males, 2019, with percentage change between 2010 and 2019
Deaths YLLs YLDs DALYs
1990 16th 14th 18th 14th
2010 13th 11th 15th 11th
2019 15th 12th 16th 13th
Table 3: Rank among attributable Level 2 risks of global deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs in 1990, 2010, and 2019 for both sexes combined
Figure 1: Composition of attributable global DALYs by constituent Level 2 causes for both sexes combined, 2019
Figure 2: Composition of attributable global DALYs by YLLs and YLDs, age group, and sex, 2019
No Legend
Figure 3: Age-standardised all-cause SEV by location, both sexes combined, 2019
No Legend
Figure 4: Percentage change in all-cause age-standardised SEV by SDI, both sexes combined, 1990–2019