A total of 620 men completed the questionnaire, of whom 528 men defined themselves as gay or bisexual, or had had sex with another man in the previous year.
A total of 481 men provided enough information to be included in the investigator's analysis.
Although there have been several studies from the United States examining intentional UAI , or 'barebacking', amongst HIV-positive gay or bisexual men, this study from Jonathan Elford and colleagues is the first to examine 'barebacking' amongst diagnosed HIV-positive gay men in the United Kingdom, looking specifically at men in London.
The study's objectives were to: Between October 2002 and May 2003, the investigators asked 864 out of 1001 HIV-positive men attending London's Royal Free HIV outpatients clinic to fill out a self-administered written questionnaire.
In fact, a total of 36 of the 59 men who intended to 'bareback' actually had UAI with men of unknown or HIV-negative status, compared with 49 of the 422 men who did not intentionally seek UAI (61% v.
One-in-eight diagnosed HIV-positive gay and bisexual men in London are seeking unprotected anal intercouse (UAI), according to a City University study published electronically in the July edition of Sexually Transmitted Diseases .
However, although the majority of 'barebackers' intend to have UAI only with other HIV-positive men (i.e.
12%; p The majority of sexual risk-taking that was reported in the previous three months was attributed to men who had no intention to 'bareback'.
Of the 85 men who reported UAI with partners of unknown or HIV-negative status in the previous three months, 49 (58%) had not intended to 'bareback' in the past year.