Unsafe sex because of alcohol

A meta-analysis concluded that drinking increases having unprotected sex

Alcohol may be behind many cases of HIV transmission

It's official. Scientific research has recently shown that drinking alcohol alone without taking into account other risk factors, increases the chances of having unprotected sex and, therefore, also increases the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases.

Many studies have suggested that disinhibition caused by alcohol makes the person consuming it take more risky behavior, which would not incur if you are sober. But so far not been demonstrated that these drinks were a direct and independent cause of the encounters without a condom. A review of 12 studies, published in 'Addiction', confirms this causal relationship, noting that an increase of 0.1 mg / ml blood alcoholincreased by 5% chance of having risky sex.

The authors, from different health institutions in Canada and the U.S., focused on analyzing the intention to use condoms, not the fact of-use in young people who were assigned to two groups. One of them drank alcohol and the other not. Just checked quickly alcohol affects the decision-making and the more one drinks, the more risk of having unprotected sex.

The observed effect had nothing to do with the personality of the individual, if it is compulsive or is attracted to the danger, so the researchers concluded that alcoholalone is responsible for many sexual encounters without a condom.

"This finding should be considered in programs to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases," said Dr. Jürgen Rehm, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto and coordinator of the analysis.

"Our results explain in part why new HIV infections are more or less stable in developed countries, despite the information available to the citizens. Alcohol, affecting the trial, may be behind the problem as sexual transmission of the virus has become the most common route, "he adds.