Black Sexual Minority Men Report Higher Prevalence of PrEP Use Than White Men

The prevalence of past use of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and current use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is higher in Black sexual minority men compared with those who are white, suggest study findings published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance.

But the study also revealed that Black men who previously used PEP are less likely to use PrEP today.

“Higher rates of past PEP use and current PrEP use among Black sexual minority men is noteworthy given [their] disproportionate burden of HIV,” wrote study first author Steven A. John, PhD, of the Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine in Milwaukee, and coauthors. “Nonetheless, understanding the disconnect linking PEP users to PrEP among Black sexual minority men is an important avenue for future research.”

The study included 63,015 cisgender and transgender men who have sex with men who completed an online survey in 2019.

Among participants, 11.3% reported prior PEP use, 8.1% reported prior PrEP use, and 22% reported current PrEP use. Nearly half of respondents who used PEP in the past currently used PrEP.

Compared with white men, Black men had higher rates of past PEP as well as current PrEP use, Latinx men had a higher rate of past PEP but no difference in PrEP use, and men of another race/ethnicity had higher rate of past PEP but lower current PrEP use, according to the study.

Past PEP and current PrEP use were highest in the Northeast. Meanwhile, PEP and PrEP use was significantly lower in the Midwest and South, the study showed.

Reference:
John SA, Sizemore KM, Jimenez RH, Jones SS, Petroll AE, Rendina HJ. HIV pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis use among an online sample of HIV-negative and unknown status cis- and transgender sexual minority men: a cross-sectional study. JMIR Public Health Surveill. Published online October 28, 2022. doi:10.2196/31237