Acute alcohol consumption and HIV transmission risk in men who have sex with men (MSM)

Alcohol has been suggested to limit cognitive processing capabilities, leading to an increased likelihoAlcohol od of engaging in condomless sex (CLS), largely based on cross-sectional studies.

An experiment by Shuper et al 1 in Toronto was carried out to test the hypothesis that acute alcohol consumption would directly increase HIV-positive MSM’s intentions to engage in CLS. It also looked at whether impact of acute alcohol consumption on CLS intentions differed between HIV-positive and negative MSM. These two groups were randomly allocated and blinded to receive either a body weight-specified dose of alcohol (target blood alcohol concentration=0.08%) or placebo. The 283 participants were then randomly presented with video clips designed to induce sexual arousal and asked to report their intentions to engage in condom-protected sex and CLS with a series of hypothetical partners. Eligibility criteria included being of legal drinking age >19 years, anal sex in the last 6 months, social drinking and no history of problematic alcohol or substance …