New research in Victoria has identified younger men who have sex with men (MSM) to be at a greater risk of contracting HIV compared to older men.
The Melbourne-based researchers found between 2007 and 2009, MSM aged 35 and under were more likely to have never previously been tested for HIV.
It also emerged that other safe-sex practices were more often ignored by younger men including condom use and learning the status of their sexual partners.
The findings were published in the Medical Journal of Australia in mid December, highlighting other research suggesting that risky sexual behaviour was more likely in younger men.
Approximately 1,635 MSM in Victoria were diagnosed with HIV between 2000 to 2009.
Between 2007 and 2008, new HIV cases in MSM rose for under 35-year-olds and decreased for men aged between 35 and 49 years.
In 2009, the rate of HIV diagnoses surged , rising by 62 per cent in men between 25 and 29 years.
However, Victorian AIDS Council Acting Executive Officer Colin Batrouney said the research was anomalous.
‘We usually see people in the age group between 20 to 29 years to be more likely to use condoms and water-based lube than older men in the social research literature,’ Batrouney said.
‘Basically what they found in this particular study is an anomaly in terms of the overall social research.’
In the study, the authors wrote that the trend for young men could actually be the result of clustering due to the small time frame applied and a limited representation of the community.
Batrouney said these findings were ‘an exception rather than the rule’ and that younger people were generally ‘far more vigilant’ with safe-sex.
‘In the year to date… figures indicate a decrease in this particular group up to August this year,’ he said.
The study also pointed to rising rates of syphilis and gonorrhoea in younger men but Batrouney said the rise was widespread among the community.
‘Syphilis and gonorrhoea rates have been on the increase for some years now; not just in younger men but gay men in general,’ Batrouney said.
‘To combat this, we have quite large social marketing campaigns to encourage sexually active gay men of all ages to get tested for HIV and other STI’s on a regular basis.’
Benn Dorrington
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