Meth Use Increases HIV Risk Among Heterosexual Men
Heterosexual men in Northern California who use methamphetamine engage in sexual behavior that puts them at higher risk of contracting HIV than people who do not use meth, according to a study by the Office of AIDS, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The study was published Thursday in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The six-year study involved 1,000 heterosexual men in low-income neighborhoods of five Northern California counties. Six percent of the participants said they had used meth within the past six months.
The study found that men who use meth were much more likely to engage in casual or anonymous sex, anal sex, and sex for money or drugs with female partners, compared with those who did not use meth.
The study suggests that heterosexual men in low-income neighborhoods could benefit from the same HIV-prevention programs targeting methamphetamine use among MSM (Russell, San Francisco Chronicle, 3/17).
The study is available online.
A volunteer at an Orange County agency that provides services to HIV-positive people says it would be "a huge mistake for people to think that being HIV-positive is now a manageable illness, because they don't realize how difficult that daily management really is," Los Angeles Times columnist Dana Parsons writes. Parsons adds that the situation "makes prevention and awareness as important as ever" (Parsons, Los Angeles Times, 3/17).
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