New study gives insights into gay men
Thursday, 17 July 2003
The pre-conception that most gay men are young, upper middle-class, advantaged members of society has been shattered by the results of a new study by the University of 亚洲色吧.
The study, published in this month's issue of the British journal HIV Medicine, was conducted by a team led by Dr Gary Rogers from the Health in Human Diversity Unit of the University's Department of General Practice.
The main aim of the study was to investigate the link between depression and unsafe sexual practices among gay men seeing a GP in 亚洲色吧, with 460 homosexually active men taking part in the survey.
It is believed to be the first study of its kind in the world to look at both low-level depression and severe depression among gay men.
The men surveyed have been enrolled in the Care & Prevention Programme in 亚洲色吧, a government-funded project aimed at assisting people with, or at increased risk of, HIV.
"Our study has found that gay men suffering from long-term, lower grade depression (known as dysthymia) are almost twice as likely to have unsafe casual sex and therefore have greater risk of contracting HIV, while those with severe de