Here are the latest data on the spread of AIDS among gay men in Italy and the initial results of the largest scientific survey ever conducted on the country's gay and bisexual population. The health and sexuality of 10,000 people are being examined. The full results will be presented at a conference in Florence on December 16th. Arcigay committees are organizing initiatives in numerous cities to mark World AIDS Day.
In the sauna
Two in three gay men have been tested for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, but one in three finds it difficult to find clear information about sexual activity that carries the risk of infection, and the percentage of gay men among new AIDS cases continues to rise. This is according to the most extensive statistical survey ever conducted in Italy on the homosexual and bisexual population and the latest official data from the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) on the prevalence of AIDS in the country.
According to the first results of the investigation, named Ways-of and conducted by Arcigay with the approval and funding of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, the 68% of gay men and 45% of lesbians have been tested for HIV at least once.. 4.2% of the former and 0.5% of the latter are HIV-positive. However, two out of three women and one out of three men find it fairly or very difficult to find clear information on risky sexual behavior between people of the same sex, while, according to the latest ISS report, the percentage of gay men among new AIDS cases continues to rise, reaching almost 20% in the two-year period 2004-2005, compared to 15% in the two-year period 1996-97.
“If it's true — comments the national president of Arcigay, Sergio Lo Giudice — While the number of new AIDS patients, but not the number of new infections, decreases every year, thanks mainly to new therapies, it is also true that this reduction is slower for gay men than for the rest of the population. In this situation, a specific co-responsibility of the Berlusconi government which, for the first time since the outbreak of the epidemic, has decided to cancel the awareness campaign specifically aimed at homosexual people"”.
The data from the Arcigay survey, the first to also include the female universe, derive from the first analyses conducted on a select sample of 6774 subjects (4,690 males, 2,084 females), who identify as gay or lesbian, or who have recently had sexual intercourse with someone of the same sex. Modi-di's complete results, including those on love, lifestyle, and social relationships, will be published on the website. www.modidi.net and illustrated on December 16, at a conference in Florence, at the Palazzo dei Congressi, Piazza Adua 1.
Men
The study focuses particularly on AIDS and risky sexual behavior among men. While it is true that a high proportion of gay men have been tested for HIV at least once in their lives, the percentage varies from 45.41% among those under 25 to 83.21% among those over 40. Another interesting finding is that one in four respondents, despite never having taken the test, believes it is certain or probable that they have not contracted the virus. If we then look at the time since the last HIV test, we find that 44.31% have taken one in the last 12 months, 191% between one and five years ago, and 51% more than five years ago. Among those living with HIV, a significant majority of 57% are undergoing drug therapy.
Analyzing the frequency of sexual encounters at risk of infection, we find that they affect 231% of the sample throughout Italy, and that this figure does not vary significantly by geographic area or age group. Indeed, adults tend to take risks to the same extent as young people. A slight difference emerges between couples and singles: among the former, 20.2% of couples engage in unprotected sex, compared to 25.2% of singles. Even internet use for sexual encounters appears to be correlated, among men, with a lowering of guards against the risk of infection: 29.3% of those who recently met a partner online had engaged in risky sexual encounters, compared to 16.1% of those who had not used the internet.
Regarding other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), this is the picture that emerges from the survey. While the majority of the male sample declared they had not been infected in the last five years (56.91 TP3T), 3.91 TP3T reported having suffered from hepatitis B, 3.61 TP3T from hepatitis A, 2.31 TP3T from hepatitis C, 4.21 TP3T from syphilis, 5.31 TP3T from gonorrhea, and 8.31 TP3T from condyloma. The peak prevalence is in the 31-40 age group. Syphilis, which is more common among those over 40, is an exception.
“We are often inundated with junk data of no scientific reliability – comment Raffaele Lelleri, sociologist and research director – Modi-di, on the other hand, is a goldmine of valuable information that, if rigorously analyzed, could teach us a lot about aspects such as sexuality, prevention, and the spread of diseases among the homosexual population. Obviously, despite the vastness of the sample, it is difficult to precisely determine its representativeness, lacking objective information on the entire population. The majority of those interviewed are very young, so certain indicators, such as those related to sexual activity, are high and impossible to compare, for example, with corresponding figures for young heterosexual men. Unfortunately, in Italy, similar surveys are not conducted on the general population.”.
Women
Regarding the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) among women, some differences are observed compared to the male sample, with two in three finding it very (45.61 TP3T) or somewhat (321 TP3T) difficult to find information on risky sexual behavior. Although, as with men, a clear majority (56.81 TP3T) have not been affected in the last five years, the prevalence of serious diseases is much lower. Specifically, only 1.51 TP3T of the women interviewed have suffered from hepatitis C, 1.41 TP3T from hepatitis A, 1.31 TP3T from hepatitis B, and just 0.21 TP3T from syphilis. Furthermore, access to mammography and Pap smear screenings is even higher than the ISTAT average for the general female population of the country, contrary to research conducted in other countries. The Pap test is carried out by 65.81 TP3T of the interviewees over 25 years of age, while the mammogram is carried out by 64.81 TP3T of the over 40s.
Relationship with the doctor and healthcare
Another aspect examined in the research is the relationship with the family doctor and health services. A large majority of gay men (78%) and even more lesbians (87%) avoid discussing their sexual orientation with their doctor. After discussing it, 14.5% of both males and females reported an improvement in their relationship with their doctor. The relationship worsened in 4.5% of cases and remained unchanged in 81%. Women tend to speak more freely with their gynecologist, who is aware of their patients' sexual orientation in 29.7% of cases. But, more generally, what are their expectations of healthcare professionals? Those who fear receiving worse treatment because of their sexual orientation are a full third of the total (31% of males and 34.5% of females).
Sample characteristics
The sample analyzed, consisting of 6,774 people (4,690 males, 2,084 females), is overwhelmingly composed of Italian citizens (97.71 TP3T). 31.61 TP3T live in the North East, 29.21 TP3T in the North West, 22.31 TP3T in the Center, 171 TP3T in the South and the Islands. The distribution by age group is clearly in favor of young people. In fact, those interviewed under 40 represent 84.91 TP3T of the total. In particular, those under 25 reach 32.71 TP3T, those between 26 and 30 years old reach 20.91 TP3T, between 31 and 40 years old 31.31 TP3T, between 41 and 50 years old 12.21 TP3T, and those over 50 2.81 TP3T. The percentage of questionnaires completed online was 78.61 TP3T, compared to 21.41 TP3T on paper. Data collection was coordinated by a scientific team of sociologists, psychologists, and statisticians and was carried out with the help of dozens of volunteers across the country.
Doctors at the disco with Arcigay on December 1st
Arcigay brings infectious disease specialists to a nightclub to discuss how to protect oneself from sexually transmitted diseases on December 1st, World AIDS Day. The initiative, which is being held in Catania, is just one of many underway in numerous Italian cities by local Arcigay committees. Conferences, concerts, counseling points, debates, parties, distribution of free condoms in schools and informational materials will also be of interest. Rome, Bologna, Genoa, Padua, Perugia, Reggio Emilia, Ancona, Verona, Pisa, Modena, Caserta, Naples, Trieste, Udine, Mantua.
