Will More Sexual Partners Lead to Higher Risk of HIV? A New Study Says No

published on September 7, 2016 by Steve Williams, in care2

Conventional wisdom has suggested that the more same-gender partners a man has, the more likely he is to engage in risky behaviors that could lead to HIV transmission, but a new study casts doubt on that assumption.

Researchers at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS wanted to examine the behaviors of men who have sex with men, or MSM. Specifically they aimed to understand whether a man’s reported number of sexual partners impacted how he approached sexual encounters.

Did more partners mean men were ambivalent to safe sex, or was it the opposite?

Researchers divided a population sample of Vancouver men by how many partners they’d had in the previous six months and then studied the strategies they practiced to safeguard themselves from contracting HIV.

Of course, condom use is a primary strategy. They remain one of the most effective and best methods for preventing HIV transmission and other sexually transmitted infections, such as syphilis and gonorrhea.

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© Copyright BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
St. Paul's Hospital 608–1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-8477 | Fax: 604-806-9044
General inquiries: info@bccfe.ca
Media inquiries: communications@bccfe.ca
(Please do not use any of these email addresses to send personal information or book an appointment. To book appointments or contact the H2H clinic, please call 604-416-1517 or fax: 604-564-4893. Do not send your or your client's personal information via email.)

Our work serves clients and communities across British Columbia on lands and waters cared for and nurtured by the many distinct First Nations across the province. The BC-CfE humbly and gratefully acknowledge the stewards of these lands, particularly the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) on whose unceded, traditional and ancestral territories our offices are located.