The most popular sexual act among men who have sex with men - anal sex - is simply much more likely to spread HIV than vaginal sex. The prevalence of HIV in gay and bisexual communities creates a bit of a vicious cycle: since HIV is more common among men who have sex with men, a gay or bisexual man is much more likely to contract HIV from his partner and, as a result, spread the disease even further to other men. 1) Young gay and bisexual men's partners are more likely to have and transmit HIV Here are some of the possible explanations, all of which have the potential to compound each other, and the evidence behind them. I reached out to Amy Lansky, an HIV researcher at the CDC, to understand the factors behind the rise. Getting to the bottom of this troubling trend is a major interest for public health advocates.
Previous CDC studies also found a 22 percent increase in new annual HIV infections among these men between 20, and youth aged 13 to 24 accounted for more than one in four new HIV infections in the US in 2010. HIV is on the rise among young gay and bisexual men.Ī 2014 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found annual diagnoses of HIV among men ages 13-24 who have sex with men rose by 132.5 percent between 20 - a much higher increase than the trend among older gay and bisexual men, and quite stark from the one-third drop in diagnoses among the general population.
