Almost 10% of men who said they were straight had had sex with at least one man during the last twelve months, according to a new study carried out by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. 70% of them were married. Many of these men said they had not used a condom and had not been tested for HIV.
In fact, the researchers found that straight men who had had sex with another man during the previous year were less likely to use a condom than gay men who had had sex with another man during the previous year.
A large proportion of the straight men who had had sex with another man were either of low economic or educational status, were foreign born and lived outside the Manhattan area.
The researchers were surprised that so many married straight men admitted to having sex with another man.
You can read about this study in Annals of Internal Medicine.
The researchers said it may be necessary for doctors not only to ask a patient whether he is heterosexual, gay, or married, but also what his sexual practices are, when assessing for risk of sexually transmitted infections. Public health prevention messages should target risky sexual activities, rather than be aimed exclusively at gay men.
Discordance between Sexual Behavior and Self-Reported Sexual Identity: A Population-Based Survey of New York City Men
Preeti Pathela, DrPH; Anjum Hajat, MPH; Julia Schillinger, MD; Susan Blank, MD; Randall Sell, ScD; and Farzad Mostashari, MD
Annals of Internal Medicine
19 September 2006 | Volume 145 Issue 6 | Pages 416-425
Article
Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today