Closeted men who have gay sex are more likely to be infected with HIV, a new study claims
Researchers believe these men are less likely to take on board prevention messages therefore decreasing their awareness of HIV
By Steve Brown
Closeted men who have gay sex are more likely to be infected with HIV, according to a new study.
The new study from the University of Edinburgh found that public health messages should also target men who aren’t open about having gay sex because they have been “neglected”.
It found that men who are not open about their sexuality and engage in sex with other closeted men, were more likely to contract the virus from each other instead of from an out gay or bisexual man.
Researchers believe this is because these men are less likely to take on board prevention messages therefore decreasing their awareness of HIV.
The study looked at archived data to examine the ways HIV is transmitted and scientists looked at the genetic coding of virus samples taken from more than 60, 000 HIV-positive people in Britain.
Andrew Leigh Brown of the School of Biological Sciences at the university, who led the study, told The Times: “Nondisclosed men who have sex with men are more likely to be infected by each other than by openly gay men and less likely to be aware of their risk.
“The finding shows that public health messages should be targeted specifically at this neglected group.
“It also shows that large-scale studies of health data can be carried out without risk to individual privacy.”