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Chronic viral infection induces immunosenescence and systemic low‐grade inflammation, leading to worsened long‐term outcomes. We sought to explore the short‐ and long‐term effects of chronic viral infection on cardiovascular disease (CVD). Based on UK Biobank data, exposed group was identified as individuals who had chronic virus infection‐related hospitalization (IRH). Unexposed group was randomly selected, matched by 5‐year age interval, sex, and Charlson comorbidity index at a ratio up to 1:10. Restricted cubic splines were used to model time‐varying effects of IRH in nonproportional Cox models. A cut‐off value of 5 years was recorded and used in piecewise Cox proportional hazards models as we estimated short‐ and long‐term effects of IRH on CVD. A total of 2826 exposed participants and 28 212 matched unexposed participants were included. Chronic viral IRH was associated with increased risk of CVD (0–5 years: hazard ratio, 1.57 [95% confidence interval: 1.32, 1.87] and 5+ years: 1.31 [1.06, 1.61]). Elevated risk of stroke was only observed within the initial 5‐year follow‐up (0–5 years: 1.91 [1.30, 2.81]). The short‐ and long‐term associations were observed in herpes or hepatitis virus IRH with risk of CVD (all p < 0.05). Subgroup analysis revealed long‐term association between chronic viral IRH and CVD among female (5+ years: 1.68 [1.27, 2.22]) but not among male. The association between chronic viral infection and elevated CVD risk appeared to be stronger among individuals who did not take cholesterol‐lowering medication, antithrombotic medication, or certain antihypertensive medications (all p for interaction < 0.05). The risk of CVD event remained persistently higher within and over 5 years following chronic viral IRH, especially in individuals infected with herpes and hepatitis virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Population-representative studies of the sexual health of middle-aged and older adults are lacking in ageing societies. This study aimed to identify latent patterns of sexual behaviours and health of people aged 45-74 years., Methods: We conducted a latent class analysis of the National Attitudes and Sexual Lifestyles Survey (Natsal-3), a nationally representative survey conducted in Britain in 2011., Results: Of the 5260 respondents aged 45-74 years, 48.86% of men and 44.91% of women belonged to the Content Caseys class who reported good sexual health. The Infrequent Indigos (30.94% of men, 44.38% of women) were characterised by a lack of sexual activity, reported some dissatisfaction, and were more likely to have a disability. The Low-Functioning Lees (11.65% of men, 8.41% of women) reported some more disability and had issues with sexual functioning and higher levels of distress. The Multiple-Partnered Morgans (8.62% of men, 2.30% of women) were characterised by a greater number of sexual partners and several risk behaviours., Conclusions: The use of these four classes can aid in improved targeting of tailored sexual health services to improve sexual function, sexual satisfaction, reduce distress and risky behaviours among middle-aged and older adults. These services should be inclusive of the disabled community., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)