The largest ever real-world study found PrEP to work extremely well as a preventative treatment.

A drug which stops HIV infecting the body has proved to be a highly effective “real-world” preventative treatment, a study has confirmed. The results of the research on 24,000 people taking it across England, have been described as “reassuring”.

Thousands of people are already taking PrEP through sexual health clinics.

HIV charity the Terrence Higgins Trust wants easier access to the drug, since many people, including women, do not know it exists.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which led the PrEP Impact Trial with the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said it was the largest ever real-world study of its kind. Funded by NHS England, it was carried out at 157 sexual health clinics across England between October 2017 and July 2020.

The study found use of PrEP, also known as pre-exposure prophylaxis. reduced the chances of getting HIV by around 86% when used in everyday life - taking into account inconsistent or incorrect use. Clinical trials suggested the medication is 99% effective.

  • @[email protected]
    4•7 months ago

    I’m not anti gay, I was an STI nurse for a few years. Anal sex for ANYONE carries a higher risk per interaction, regardless of whether you are the receptive or insetive partner.

    My point was not to label all people having unprotected sex as needing PrEP, or only gay people as needing PrEP. My point was to look at the types of sex you have, with the number and types of partners you have, and take a realistic look at what kinds of risks for STI transmission any of those have.

    For instance, if you have lots of unprotected oral sex with strangers, you aren’t going to get HIV. You might get another STI, but HIV is virtually un-transmissable via oral sex. But someone reading the comment might get scared and think they need to take PrEP.

    https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-conditions/sexual-and-reproductive-health/hiv-aids/causes/risk-of-exposure.html#:~:text=Therefore%2C unprotected sex with an,exposures)%20for%20receptive%20anal%20sex.

    • @[email protected]
      2•7 months ago

      Being a “nurse” doesn’t meant you know anything. I’m married to a nurse and I’m shocked how dumb some of their friends are. You’re giving misleading medical advise, which is a violation. Stop.

          • @[email protected]
            6•7 months ago

            No, like my initial comment said, number and types of partners are important, as are your partners’ partners.

            If you actually read my comment, you can see I’m trying to get people to look past the stigma and actually determine what kinds of risks they have and make safer sex decisions accordingly.

            PrEP can have some uncomfortable side effects, and not everyone is able to tolerate it. There are very, very few things in healthcare that we can say “everyone” in a certain cohort should do, and PrEP is no exception.

            Your response, which characterizes my post as misinformation, is inaccurate, as I have shown, but I do appreciate the chance to talk about sex and try to normalize it as part of the healthcare discussion 😊