Study confirms
that meth use boosts HIV risks

A study conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco's AIDS Health Project, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the San Francisco Department of Public Health confirms that crystal meth use boosts HIV infection risks, with users three times more likely to become infected than nonusers, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The study focused on 3,000 San Francisco residents who took HIV antibody tests in 2000 and 2001. About 6% of those reporting meth use tested positive for HIV infection; nonusers had a 2% HIV infection rate, according to the study.

Researchers say meth use boosts the odds of HIV infection by lowering inhibitions and encouraging risky sex with multiple partners.

Jeffrey Klausner, director of STD control for the San Francisco health department and lead author of the study, which appears in the journal AIDS, says the research shows that it is important for HIV and STD prevention efforts to include meth prevention and treatment components.