Knowledge about health risks related to sexual behaviors and associated correlates among millennial undergraduates: A systematic review

Aim: The present systematic review aimed to evaluate knowledge about risks related to sexual behaviors and associated correlates among undergraduates from European countries belonging to the millennial generation. Subject and methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. The protocol was recorded in PROSPERO (registration no. CRD42023439105). PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched and the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale was used to assess the quality of the studies. Results: After completion of the screening process, 34 cross-sectional studies were included, for a total of 36,975 participants, among which 29 showed good quality. In total, 26 articles were focused on infection risks, four on both infection and non-infection risks, and four on non-infection risks. Notwithstanding a sufficient, albeit incomplete, awareness regarding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, knowledge about sexually transmitted infections and other risks related to sexual behaviors was found to be unsatisfactory, related to several factors. Even though the results were not always consistent, knowledge was significantly associated with age, gender, field of study, area of residence, parental education, sexual orientation, and sexual experiences. Conclusion: Further research should be aimed at identifying the most effective educational strategies to improve knowledge and consequent attitude and risk perception related to risky sexual behaviors among young adults in European countries.