Viagra Causes AIDS!

Using sexual arousal aids increases your chances of getting AIDS.

Using sexual arousal aids increases your chances of getting AIDS.  CNN passes along this blinding flash of the obvious that’s so obvious that even they understand how obvious it is.

More sex, more risk of STDs. It’s a no-brainer.

So it may seem obvious that, according to a new study , men who take erectile dysfunction drugs have two to three times the rates of sexually transmitted diseases.

However self-evident this may seem, it does point to a serious public health problem. HIV/AIDS was the most-seen STD in the study, suggesting that a growing number of older men may be passing along incurable diseases.

Looking at said study, by Anupam Jena et al in the Annals of Internal Medicine, I see no additional reason to be surprised:

Results: Users of ED drugs had higher rates of STDs than nonusers the year before initiating ED drug therapy (214 vs. 106 annually per 100 000 persons; P = 0.003) and the year after (105 vs. 65; P = 0.004). After adjustment for age and other comorbid conditions, users of ED drugs had an odds ratio (OR) for an STD of 2.80 (95% CI, 2.10 to 3.75) in the year before initiating drug therapy; the OR was 2.65 (CI, 1.84 to 3.81) in the year after. These differences were largely due to infections with HIV. The OR for HIV infection was 3.32 (CI, 2.38 to 4.36) in the year before and 3.19 (CI, 2.11 to 4.83) in the year after an ED drug prescription was filled. Significant changes in STD rates from the year before to the year after the first ED drug prescription was filled were not documented (adjusted OR for STD for users before vs. after the first ED drug prescription was filled, 0.96 [CI, 0.87 to 1.06]).

Limitation: Selection bias precludes conclusions about whether use of ED treatments directly leads to increases in STDs.

Conclusion: Men who use ED drugs have higher rates of STDs, particularly HIV infection, both in the year before and after use of these drugs. The observed association between ED drug use and STDs may have more to do with the types of patients using ED drugs rather than a direct effect of ED drug availability on STD rates. Counseling about safe sexual practices and screening for STDs should accompany the prescription of ED drugs.

Always comforting to get recommendations following results based on an admittedly biased sample.

FILED UNDER: Health, , ,
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Dave Schuler says:

    Perhaps it depends on what CNN’s writers mean by “older”. The study was of men over 40. Based on the data in the article and in the linked study, I don’t see how you can tell who had the higher rate of HIV infection. It’s possible that an increase in the number of 40 year olds using drugs for erectile dysfunction skewed the results of the entire study. I see no way to tell.

  2. grampagravy says:

    Viagra has given me aids alright. Some mornings I really need the aid of my lumbar support cushion and on occasion I make my way home so tired I need the aid of my cane. And thank you McDonald’s for the value menu. It takes some of the pain out of the cost of dinner, a movie, AND a pill!