Why are gays more affected by aids

However, we note some areas where responses differ significantly for some broad categories, including white men compared to members of racial and ethnic minority groups, and younger men ages compared with those ages 35 and older. And the goal of this editorial commemorating the first published cases of AIDS is to underscore the critical importance of human rights for sexual minority men and women and as the basis of the HIV response.

Learn why gay men, bisexual men, and other men who have sex with men are more likely than average to contract HIV. Find strategies for reducing the risk. Older men are also somewhat more likely than younger men to say they know someone currently living with HIV 54 percent versus 39 percent.

However, this is likely to be an underestimate of the true rate in the population, since some men may have chosen not to disclose their own status in the survey, and others are likely to be unaware they are HIV-positive.

Why Is the Risk

Among the general public, these shares are much smaller — just one in five 19 percent say they know someone living with HIV and 15 percent have lost someone close to them to the disease. To help answer these questions, the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a survey of gay and bisexual men in the U.

The survey was conducted July August 3, with a sample of men who self-identified as either gay or bisexual using a nationally representative, probability-based Internet panel more details available in the Survey Methodology section of this report.

Gay, bisexual, and other men who reported male-to-male sexual contact are disproportionately affected by HIV. Social and structural issues—such as HIV stigma, homophobia, discrimination, poverty, and limited access to high-quality health care—influence health outcomes and continue to drive inequities.

These early events remind us that HIV is a story first written on the bodies of gay and bisexual men. What do gay and bisexual men know and think about HIV, and about these new treatments? HIV rates in gay men are higher than in all other groups.

Nearly half 47 percent of those ages 35 and older say they have lost someone close to them to the disease, while just 8 percent of those ages say the same. More than thirty years into the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and at a time when infections among gay and bisexual men are on the rise in the U.S., a new national survey of gay and bisexual men by the Kaiser.

The HIV Epidemic Remembering

Asked specifically about health issues affecting gay and bisexual men, HIV is by far the number one issue at 52 percent, followed by other sexually transmitted diseases 28 percent. Many are unaware that HIV infections are increasing among gay and bisexual men, the only risk group for which this is true in the United States.

Addressing these barriers and encouraging safe and supportive communities can help. Asked about a variety of policy issues affecting gay and bisexual men, just over half 54 percent say efforts aimed at prevention and treatment of HIV should be a top priority, while nearly as many say the same thing about efforts to combat bullying and violence directed at LGBT youth 51 percent and equal employment rights for LGBT people 47 percent.

Smaller shares name safe sex in general 9 percentmental health 8 percentand drug use 8 percent. Gay men of color are almost twice as likely their white counterparts to say they are at least somewhat concerned about becoming infected with HIV 53 percent versus 28 percent.

What are the obstacles to this population taking greater advantage of them? Some highlights of the survey are presented here, and a more comprehensive examination of the survey findings follows. From the earliest days of the HIV epidemic, gay and bisexual men have been among the hardest-hit groups in the United States.

Men who identify as gay are somewhat more likely to know that new HIV infections are increasing compared with those who identify as bisexual 36 percent versus 22 percent. While gay men make up just 2 percent of the U. Gay men are the only group in the country among whom new infections are on the rise; betweennew infections rose 12 percent overall among gay men, and 22 percent among younger gay men ages People living with HIV can reduce the risk of transmitting the infection to others by up to 96 percent if they are taking consistent ARV treatment 5and for those who are HIV negative, new pre-exposure prophylaxis PrEP offers a daily pill that can help them to stay negative.

Ten percent of gay and bisexual men indicated that they themselves are HIV-positive. Learn about the biological, sexual, social, and psychological causes of this disparity. The relatively modest sample size of the survey men total limits our ability to provide results among all subgroups of interest within the overall population of gay and bisexual men.

Only about a third 35 percent of gay and bisexual men say they are at least somewhat concerned about becoming infected with HIV. Just over four in ten 43 percent say they are concerned about contracting other STDs, while even more report being concerned about developing cancer 61 percenthaving a heart attack 58 percentand developing diabetes 44 percent.

Among African Americans nationally — another group besides gay and bisexual men that is disproportionately affected by HIV — just over a quarter 27 percent say they know someone living with the disease, and a similar share 28 percent, almost equal to the rate among gay men say someone close to them has died from it.