Department of Epidemiology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Department of Systems, Populations, and Leadership, School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Am J Mens Health. 2023 Mar-Apr;17(2):15579883231168602. doi: 10.1177/15579883231168602.
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, disruptions to sexual health services and changes to sexual behavior due to the first COVID-19 lockdowns were common among U.S. gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). Less is known about the persistence of these changes after this initial lockdown period. These changes have long-term implications for HIV prevention for current and future pandemic periods. This study collected information on COVID-related impacts on sexual behavior and HIV-related health service disruptions from a cohort of U.S. GBMSM at three time points during the COVID-19 pandemic. We observed that COVID-related disruptions to sexual behavior continued from early lockdown periods through December 2020. Although early interruptions to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) access resolved in later 2020 and interruptions to antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence were minimal, extended disruptions were observed in HIV testing, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, HIV care clinical visits, and HIV viral load testing. Although sexual behavior did not return to prepandemic levels in late 2020, the reduced access to HIV prevention, testing, and treatment services during this period could result in an overall increased HIV transmission rate, with long-term impacts to the trajectory of the U.S. HIV epidemic. Additional resources and programs are needed to address challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as prepare for future potential pandemics and other disruptive events.
在 COVID-19 大流行早期,由于第一次 COVID-19 封锁,美国男同性恋者、双性恋者和其他与男性发生性关系的男性(GBMSM)的性健康服务中断和性行为改变很常见。在最初的封锁期之后,这些变化是否持续存在的了解较少。这些变化对当前和未来大流行期间的 HIV 预防具有长期影响。本研究通过在 COVID-19 大流行期间的三个时间点,从美国 GBMSM 队列中收集了有关 COVID 对性行为和与 HIV 相关的卫生服务中断的信息。我们观察到,从早期封锁期到 2020 年 12 月,与 COVID 相关的性行为中断仍在继续。尽管 PrEP(暴露前预防)获取的早期中断在 2020 年末得到解决,ART(抗逆转录病毒治疗)依从性的中断也很少,但 HIV 检测、性传播感染(STI)检测、HIV 护理临床就诊和 HIV 病毒载量检测仍出现了长时间的中断。尽管 2020 年末性行为并未恢复到大流行前水平,但在此期间,HIV 预防、检测和治疗服务的获取减少可能导致 HIV 传播率总体上升,对美国 HIV 流行的轨迹产生长期影响。需要额外的资源和计划来应对 COVID-19 大流行带来的挑战,并为未来可能的大流行和其他破坏性事件做好准备。
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