1. Impacts of COVID-19 on sexual behaviors, HIV prevention and care among men who have sex with men: A comparison of New York City and Metropolitan Atlanta.
- Author
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Goodreau SM, Delaney KP, Zhu W, Smith DK, Mann LM, Sanchez TH, Hamilton DT, and Hoover KW
- Subjects
- Male, Humans, Homosexuality, Male, New York City epidemiology, Pandemics prevention & control, Sexual Behavior, Sexual and Gender Minorities, COVID-19 epidemiology, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome epidemiology, HIV Infections drug therapy, HIV Infections epidemiology, HIV Infections prevention & control, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis methods
- Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted HIV prevention, care, and transmission opportunities. This likely varies by geography, given differences in COVID-19 burden and mandates over time, and by age, given different likelihoods of severe COVID-19 consequences. We consider changes in sexual behavior, HIV testing, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use and antiretroviral therapy (ART) use among men who have sex with men (MSM) over the first year of the COVID-19 epidemic, comparing the Atlanta metropolitan area and New York City (NYC). We use two continuous time-series datasets and one panel dataset, assessing changes over time within city and comparing across cities, and disaggregate major findings by age. For clinical results, ART use showed by far the smallest reductions, and testing the largest. Disruptions occurred concurrently between cities, despite the major wave of COVID-19, and government mandates, occurring later in Atlanta. Test positivity increased in NYC only. In both cities, younger MSM saw the greatest reductions in testing and PrEP use, but the smallest in sexual behavior. Reduced clinical service usage would be unconcerning if stemming solely from reductions in exposure; however, the patterns for young MSM suggest that the COVID-19 epidemic likely generated new conditions for increased HIV transmission, especially in this cohort., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.)
- Published
- 2023
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