September 23, 2026
2 min read
Key takeaways:
Adults with type 1 diabetes do not have increased hypoglycemia risk 2 hours after sexual activity.
Glucose levels increased after 42% of sexual activity events.
More research is needed in a broader population.
People with type 1 diabetes may not have increased risk for hypoglycemia after sexual intercourse, according to data that will be presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting.
In findings from a small study of 12 adults with type 1 diabetes who wore a continuous glucose monitor, researchers did not see a rise in level 1 or level 2 hypoglycemia events in the 2 hours after sexual activity compared with 2 hours before. Dominika Orłowska, MD, of the department of diabetology and internal medicine at Medical University of Warsaw in Poland, said the findings are crucial, as sexual activity is rarely a topic that is discussed with patients with type 1 diabetes.
“The key result is straightforward: Sexual intercourse does not increase the risk of clinically significant hypoglycemia,” Orlowska told Healio. “The take-home message is simply that sex is safe.”
Twelve adults with type 1 diabetes who used insulin and were CGM users were enrolled in a 3-month prospective study (seven women; median age, 36 years). Participants self-reported each time they had sexual activity within their CGM app. The primary outcome was incidence of level 2 hypoglycemia with glucose less than 3 mmol/L (54 mg/dL) 2 hours before sexual activity compared with 2 hours after an event.
There were 110 sexual activity events recorded during the study. Among those events, level 2 hypoglycemia occurred 6.4% of the time, with the median hypoglycemic event occurring 135 minutes after sexual activity. There was no difference in the percentage of level 1 or level 2 hypoglycemia events observed 2 hours before sexual activity vs. 2 hours after activity.
There was no change in glucose during sexual intercourse. Across events, glucose dropped 58% of the time and increased 42% of the time. Eight of 12 participants had sexual activity events in which glucose increased and others where it decreased. Glucose changed by more than 3 mmol/L (54 mg/dL) in either direction in 38% of sexual activity events.
“What surprised us most was the direction,” Orlowska said. “We expected glucose to fall after sex — perhaps not all the way to hypoglycemia, but a clear downward tendency. Instead, it did both: Sometimes it fell, sometimes it rose. And this was not a matter of individual patients, which is what we would have guessed — some people who drop, some who do not. Almost every participant had occasions going both ways.”
In a subgroup analysis, participants who had sexual activity at night had an 11% decline in glucose 2 hours after the event compared with 2 hours before (P = .01). Glucose levels did not change after daytime sexual activity.
Orlowska said the data provide objective evidence for healthcare professionals to discuss with their patients with type 1 diabetes.
“We can finally reassure our patients about the safety of sexual activity with data rather than with guesswork, and that is a conversation worth starting in the clinic,” Orlowska said.
Orlowska cautioned that the study included a small sample size, and more research in a broader population is needed to confirm the findings.
For more information:
Dominika Orłowska, MD, can be reached at dominikaorlowska98@gmail.com.