- BARCELONA (Reuters Health)
- A high proportion of young gay and bisexual men with HIV infection in
US cities are unaware that they are carrying the virus, according to the
results of a study presented on Sunday, the opening day of the International
AIDS Conference here.
-
- And more than half of the HIV-positive men surveyed reported
that they considered themselves to be at low risk of infection, lead researcher
Dr. Duncan MacKellar, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), told conference participants.
-
- MacKellar and colleagues conducted an anonymous survey
of 5,719 gay or bisexual men between the ages of 15 and 29 who lived in
Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, Baltimore, Newark or Miami.
-
- Of the 573 men who tested positive for HIV infection,
440 (77%) were unaware of their infection and may have inadvertently transmitted
the virus to their partners.
-
- The rate was especially high among HIV-infected African-American
men, 91% of whom reported they did not know whether or not they were HIV
positive. Seventy percent and 60% of Hispanic and white men, respectively,
did not know they were infected.
-
- Almost 60% of the 440 HIV-positive men considered themselves
to be at low risk of HIV infection, MacKellar added.
-
- "Over half had either not been tested in the past
year or had never been tested for HIV," he said. In the previous 6
months, half of the 440 reported having unprotected anal intercourse with
one or more men, and nearly half of these men said they did not use condoms
because they thought they or their partners were at low risk of infection.
-
- MacKellar told Reuters Health the stigma of being tested
for HIV remains a problem. In the current study, participants listed two
primary reasons for not getting tested--they thought they were at low risk
or they were "scared to learn the results."
-
- "We've got to do a better job of making sure that
young men who have sex with men really understand the risks they are engaging
in and the risks for acquiring HIV infection," MacKellar concluded.
"We also need to do a better job of getting the word out of the benefits
of early diagnosis and care."
-
- In a second report, Dr. Ron Stall, also of the CDC, said
that multiple drug use, partner violence, history of childhood sexual abuse
and depression appear to increase high-risk sexual behavior among gay and
bisexual men in the US.
-
- In the course of surveying 2,281 men in San Francisco,
Los Angeles, Chicago and New York on a broad range of health problems that
included sexual and mental health issues, "we were struck by the extent
to which each of the health problems turned out to predict the other,"
Stall explained.
-
- There seemed to be "an interlocking web" of
health problems among the gay men in these cities, constituting "simultaneous
epidemics that are feeding each other."
-
- The links between HIV risk-taking and multiple drug use,
partner violence, history of childhood sexual abuse and depression were
particularly striking, he said.
-
- Of those who reported all four problems, 33.3% also reported
high-risk sexual behaviors. In contrast, of those who reported none of
these problems, only 7.1% reported high-risk sexual behaviors. Similarly,
HIV infection was reported by 25% with all four problems, compared with
only 13% of those with none of these four other problems.
-
- Overall, the HIV epidemic in this population is "intertwined
with and fueled by other psychosexual health problems," Stall concluded.
"One of the reasons why these men may not be able to respond to intervention
campaigns is that they are dealing with these other problems."
-
- Copyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited
without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable
for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance
thereon.
-
-
-
- High Proportion HIV+ US Gay Men Don't Know They're
Infected
-
- 7-8-2
-
- BARCELONA (Reuters Health) - A high proportion of young
gay and bisexual men with HIV infection in US cities are unaware that they
are carrying the virus, according to the results of a study presented on
Sunday, the opening day of the International AIDS Conference here.
-
- And more than half of the HIV-positive men surveyed reported
that they considered themselves to be at low risk of infection, lead researcher
Dr. Duncan MacKellar, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), told conference participants.
-
- MacKellar and colleagues conducted an anonymous survey
of 5,719 gay or bisexual men between the ages of 15 and 29 who lived in
Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, Baltimore, Newark or Miami.
-
- Of the 573 men who tested positive for HIV infection,
440 (77%) were unaware of their infection and may have inadvertently transmitted
the virus to their partners.
-
- The rate was especially high among HIV-infected African-American
men, 91% of whom reported they did not know whether or not they were HIV
positive. Seventy percent and 60% of Hispanic and white men, respectively,
did not know they were infected.
-
- Almost 60% of the 440 HIV-positive men considered themselves
to be at low risk of HIV infection, MacKellar added.
-
- "Over half had either not been tested in the past
year or had never been tested for HIV," he said. In the previous 6
months, half of the 440 reported having unprotected anal intercourse with
one or more men, and nearly half of these men said they did not use condoms
because they thought they or their partners were at low risk of infection.
-
- MacKellar told Reuters Health the stigma of being tested
for HIV remains a problem. In the current study, participants listed two
primary reasons for not getting tested--they thought they were at low risk
or they were "scared to learn the results."
-
- "We've got to do a better job of making sure that
young men who have sex with men really understand the risks they are engaging
in and the risks for acquiring HIV infection," MacKellar concluded.
"We also need to do a better job of getting the word out of the benefits
of early diagnosis and care."
-
- In a second report, Dr. Ron Stall, also of the CDC, said
that multiple drug use, partner violence, history of childhood sexual abuse
and depression appear to increase high-risk sexual behavior among gay and
bisexual men in the US.
-
- In the course of surveying 2,281 men in San Francisco,
Los Angeles, Chicago and New York on a broad range of health problems that
included sexual and mental health issues, "we were struck by the extent
to which each of the health problems turned out to predict the other,"
Stall explained.
-
- There seemed to be "an interlocking web" of
health problems among the gay men in these cities, constituting "simultaneous
epidemics that are feeding each other."
-
- The links between HIV risk-taking and multiple drug use,
partner violence, history of childhood sexual abuse and depression were
particularly striking, he said.
-
- Of those who reported all four problems, 33.3% also reported
high-risk sexual behaviors. In contrast, of those who reported none of
these problems, only 7.1% reported high-risk sexual behaviors. Similarly,
HIV infection was reported by 25% with all four problems, compared with
only 13% of those with none of these four other problems.
-
- Overall, the HIV epidemic in this population is "intertwined
with and fueled by other psychosexual health problems," Stall concluded.
"One of the reasons why these men may not be able to respond to intervention
campaigns is that they are dealing with these other problems."
-
- Copyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited
without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable
for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance
thereon.
-
|
