Abstract
BACKGROUND: Sexual intercourse is integral part of physical well-being health especially in married couple's life. Unhappiness and life dissatisfaction can be positively influenced by sexual inactivity (SI). Sexual inactivity was defined as no sexual frequency among reproductive married women in the last month. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of sexual inactivity and its associated risk factors among Bangladeshi reproductive married women. METHOD: Cross-sectional study design data from the most recent Bangladesh Health and Demographic Survey conducted in 2022 was utilized. The analysis included 14,650 reproductive heterosexual married women (RHMA). The associations between sexual inactivity and exposure variables were evaluated using Pearson's Chi-square test, and the prediction model considered the multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of sexual inactivity among RHMA in Bangladesh was 6.72% (95% CI 0.93-0.94). This study shows that in Bangladesh, reproductive heterosexual married women from the Dhaka region, Khulna region, and Sylhet region, who have a height below < 164 cm, who have a husband aged 30-40 years, are more likely to be sexually inactive. The odds of sexual inactivity were lower among RHMA who household heads were, who were aged ≥ 40 years, and whose husbands were unemployed. All these factors were statistically significant (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Women's age significantly affect sexual inactivity among the women in their reproductive age in Bangladesh. To overcome SI problem government and nongovernmental organization must take effective measures to improve women education level, reproductive health-care service, including sexual health of childbearing age.