Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men: time to end the fixation with HIV

HIV has been inextricably linked with gay men’s health since the term “gay related immune deficiency” was first used to refer to AIDS in the early 1980s. Today, the collective emphasis of health interventions targeted at gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men remains focused on preventing sexually transmitted infection, to the extent that absence of HIV has come to be regarded almost synonymously with gay men’s health.

Beyond HIV, health disparities in this group of men encompass a range of physical conditions, including asthma, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.1 They are also more likely to experience physical disability and to report poorer self rated health.1 Determinants of these differences have received limited public and medical attention and remain relatively unstudied. Further inequality is driven by an unwillingness to seek medical care or disclose sexuality to healthcare providers because of perceived negative healthcare experiences.2 Demographic and socioeconomic factors also contribute independently to health disparities within this diverse population.3 …