BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Poorly fitting condoms make it difficult for men and/or their female partners to reach orgasm, curbing sexual pleasure for both, U.S. researchers said.
The study of 436 men between the ages of 18-67, published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections, found about 45 percent of the men said they had used a badly fitting condom in the last three months.
Study co-author Dr. Bill Yarber of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction suggested badly fitting condoms are not only likely to split and break, but they may also reduce sexual pleasure for both partners.
The prospect of reduced pleasure and intimacy could explain why many men prefer not to use condoms -- especially if they are labeled "small" or "extra small," Yarber said.
The men, recruited via newspaper ads and a Web site of a condom company, completed a questionnaire that asked about the fit of condoms they had most recently used for penetrative sex with a female partner.
They were more than 2.5 times as likely to report breakage or slippage as those whose condoms were a good fit, and five times as likely to report penile irritation, the study found.
