(Press-News.org) Europe's most homophobic countries may be paving the way for a rise in HIV cases among gay and bisexual men, according to new research published in the journal AIDS.
An international team of researchers from Europe and the US looked at HIV-related service use, need and behaviours among 175,000 gay or bisexual men living in 38 European countries with differing levels of national homophobia.
They found that men in homophobic countries had fewer sexual partners and were less likely to be diagnosed with HIV. However, they also found those men knew less about HIV, were less likely to use condoms and are at greater potential risk of getting HIV when they do have sex.
As technological advancements such as mobile sex-seeking apps mean men in the most homophobic countries have increasing opportunities for sexual contact, they are quickly overcoming the relative lack of brick-and-mortar sex venues such as bars and saunas. The researchers warn the effects of homophobia could therefore have a very concerning impact on the spread of HIV.
Co-author Dr Ford Hickson from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: "Our findings are surprising as it may appear it's effectively safer for men to stay in the closet in the most homophobic countries because their HIV-risk is lower there. But the closet is a difficult, shameful place which is particularly harmful to mental health and wellbeing. It's also a place where men are kept ignorant, under-resourced and poorly skilled when dealing with sex and HIV. As the way people meet changes with technology, the homophobia that may have appeared to be protecting these men will now be exposing them to huge risk."
The research was conducted by the Yale School of Public Health, Columbia University, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the Norwegian Knowledge Centre for Health Services, and the German Robert Koch Institute.
Researchers measured national homophobia across Europe using a combination of the laws of a country and the results of social attitudes surveys. They then analysed data from 175,000 gay or bisexual men in 38 European countries who completed the European MSM Survey (EMIS) in 2010 to compare the level of HIV-related service use, need and behaviours among groups of men living in more homophobic and less homophobic countries.
The researchers say their findings suggest new approaches need to be considered to reduce oppression without increasing the HIV risk.
Dr Hickson added: "Previous research on HIV prevention in Europe has shown there are four key interventions in suppressing HIV: condom distribution, peer-led group education, peer-outreach education projects, and universal access to anti-retrovirals for men with HIV. All health authorities could be commissioning these services as well as working to protect the human rights of sexual minorities."
INFORMATION:
For more information or interviews please contact the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine press office on +44(0)2079272802 or press@lshtm.ac.uk.
Notes to Editors:
Publication: J E Pachankis, M L Hatzenbuehler, F Hickson, P Weatherburn, R Berg, U Marcus, U, A J Schmidt. Hidden from health: Structural stigma, sexual orientation concealment, and HIV across 38 countries in the European MSM Internet Survey (EMIS). AIDS. DOI:10.1097/QAD.0000000000000724
The paper is available online at http://journals.lww.com/aidsonline/Fulltext/2015/06190/Hidden_from_health___structural_stigma,_sexual.15.aspx
The European MSM Internet Survey (EMIS) is believed to be the largest study on men who have sex with men (MSM). Further details at http://www.emis-project.eu
About the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is a world-leading centre for research and postgraduate education in public and global health, with 3,900 students and more than 1,000 staff working in over 100 countries. The School is one of the highest-rated research institutions in the UK, and was recently cited as the world's leading research-focused graduate school. Our mission is to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership to achieve excellence in public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge into policy and practice. http://www.lshtm.ac.uk
This news release is available in German.
Insects are the most diverse animal group on earth. Many of them feed on plants, and they are constantly challenged by the diverse direct and indirect defenses of their food plants as well as an imbalanced nutrient composition. In response, the insects are continuously evolving different behavioral, morphological and biochemical adaptations to overcome the plant defenses. Additionally, some species rely on symbiotic microbes to deal with the plants' nutritional challenges. Scientists of the Max Planck Research Group ...
Rome, Italy, 10 June 2015: The results of the tREACH trial presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2015) Press Conference showed that initial therapy with combination DMARDs significantly improves measures of disease activity and functional ability in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). These findings suggest that an initial treatment regimen of methotrexate, sulfasalazine and hydroxychloroquine could provide significant patient benefits over monotherapy (methotrexate alone).
"Many trials have shown that early and intensive ...
Rome, Italy, 10 June 2015: The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2015) Press Conference showed that ultrasound diagnosis of tenosynovitis (inflammation of the tendon sheath) was superior to clinical symptoms and signs in the prediction of early Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). This is the first study to show that ultrasound-defined tenosynovitis is a strong predictor of early RA. By identifying the need for treatment before the onset of symptoms and signs, this procedure has the potential to improve clinical outcomes. ...
Washington D.C., June 10, 2015 - A recent study published in the July 2015 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry demonstrates that early intervention, beginning between 18 and 30 months of age improves outcomes for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at age 6.
Early intensive behavioral intervention is recognized an as efficacious approach for improving outcomes for young children with ASD. However, most studies of comprehensive, intensive intervention only report immediate outcomes at the end of intervention and the ...
Rome, Italy, 10 June 2015: The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2015) Press Conference showed that patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) taking conventional DMARD therapy who have moderate disease activity have a similar risk of joint failure that requires surgery as those with high disease activity.
In some countries, additional treatment with a biological DMARD is based on a disease activity cut-off that excludes RA patients with moderate disease activity. These findings suggest it is not just ...
Men benefit from one-time screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms via ultrasound. Studies provide proof that their risk of dying is reduced, the abdominal aorta ruptures less often, and emergency surgery can be avoided more often. Far fewer data are available for women and they show no relevant differences between the groups investigated. This is the result of the final report published on 28 May 2015 by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG).
Rupture is often fatal, even if emergency surgery is performed
An abdominal aortic aneurysm ...
Petrel fledglings leave the nest after dark, but these marine birds' maiden flights towards the sea are hampered by city lights. Many collide or fall to the ground where they are in danger of being run over and vulnerable to predators. Now, a study has evaluated the impact of light pollution on three species of petrels on the Balearic Islands, including the Balearic shearwater, the most threatened sea bird in Europe, and concludes that between 30 and 47% of colonies are exposed to high levels of light pollution.
This is not a new phenomenon. The dangers that fledglings ...
"Let's synchronize our watches." It's the classic line before a group goes out on a mission. We are all familiar with the concept of synchronized clocks - less known, but equally important, is that wireless devices need to be synchronized too.
However, instead of requiring a precision of minutes, wireless devices have to make their clocks match within very small fractions of a second. This so-called "clock synchronization" is needed for a large range of purposes - from increasing cellphone coverage, to increasing data speed rates, to enabling precision localization in ...
Britain, Queensland, Israel, Poland - 2015 has been a year of electoral polling failure and it could have major implications on election outcomes, say QUT economics researchers.
The recent definitive Conservative win in the recent British elections, when polling had produced the near universal prediction of a 'hung parliament', mirrors Labor's surprise win in Queensland where the election outcome was unrelated to the poll prediction, says Professor Lionel Page from QUT's Queensland Behavioural Economics Group (QuBE).
"The magnitude of the failure to predict these elections' ...
This news release is available in Spanish. Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is an infectious disease that affects the immune system of cattle, causing immunodeficiency and in some cases triggering the development of leukemia or solid tumors in the form of lymphomas. This illness causes significant losses in productivity and even premature death of animals mostly in dairy farms. It also raises sanitary barriers for commerce of livestock and derived goods. As such, it has become a very prevalent veterinary issue, notably in Uruguay, which needs urgent solving. BLV is a virus ...
