Meth-using MSM

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Treatment News : Gay Meth Use Accounts For 1 in 6 New HIV Cases in Seattle Area

pozmagazine:

Meth-using MSM were actually 5.2 times more likely to be diagnosed with HIV than MSM who did not use the drug. 

I worry that meth use may be a marker for something else (like self-medicating depression) and that putting the blame on meth is going to scare people away from services.

Though stimulants do make mucous membranes drier and probably more permeable.

I found this quote in the original report.

MSM who used meth were less likely to have a late HIV diagnosis (AIDS within 6 months of testing positive) than MSM who did not use meth (18% versus 25%, P = 0.04). And meth-using MSM had a shorter time from their last negative HIV test than did MSM who did not use meth (median 242 versus 334 days, P < 0.001). But meth-using MSM were less likely to be linked to care within 3 months of HIV diagnosis than non-meth users (93% versus 97%, P = 0.05)

To me, this says that meth users are making an effort to look after their health by getting HIV testing, but that the current system is not very good at linking them to care. Active drug users used to be excluded from HCV treatment, and I wonder if that is still an issue in HIV treatment.