Gay or bisexual men who have mental health issues are at increased risk of becoming infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that leads to AIDS. Their risk of infection increases with the number of mental health issues they have.
A study has found that men who reported having four or five mental health issues had nine times the risk of being infected with HIV compared to men with no issues. Those who reported the most mental health issues were the most likely to become HIV positive by the end of the study and were most likely to report unprotected anal sex and unprotected anal sex with a person infected with HIV.
Participants in the study were not infected with HIV when they enrolled in the study between 1999 and 2001. They were asked to complete a survey and be tested for HIV every 6 months. Six-hundred eighty men completed the study.
Researchers looked at data from surveyed men who said they had had sex with other men during the previous year. The purpose was to see how five mental health conditions--depression, alcohol abuse, stimulant use, multidrug abuse, and exposure to childhood sexual violence--affected their risk of becoming infected with HIV. Participants were asked about whether they had symptoms of depression, heavy alcohol use, heavy drug use, and childhood sexual abuse.
Studies have shown that people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender are more likely to have mental health issues than other people. There are an estimated 1.1 million people in the United States with HIV and about one in every six cases is unreported. Men who have sex with men make up about two-thirds of new HIV infections.
The study was reported in the Journal of Acquired immune Deficiency Syndromes.
