Social connections may prevent HIV infection among black men who have sex with men

FINDINGSUCLA-led research suggests that receiving support from friends and acquaintances can help prevent black men who have sex with men from becoming infected with HIV.BACKGROUNDBlack men who have sex with men have disproportionately high rates of HIV infection. While social connections are known to influence the behaviors that influence people ’s risk for HIV, little is known about whether they affect the risk for becoming infected with HIV.METHODThe researchers analyzed data from a 2009 –11 study that examined a multifaceted intervention for black men who have sex with men in six U.S. cities. They analyzed the associations between measures of network support — personal and emotional, financial, medical, social participation and others — and time to HIV seroconversion, which i s when antibodies to the virus develop and it becomes detectable in the blood.One thousand men tested negative for HIV infection at the beginning of the study. Of them, 28 eventually tested positive during the study period. Participants who remained free from HIV were more likely to receive personal and emotional, medical or social support through their social networks.Limitations to the study include that participants received peer counseling, testing for HIV and sexually transmitted infections, and care referrals, which could have contributed to a lower risk for HIV; the study measured perceived support rather than the actual amount of support participants received; and the study was limite...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news