High levels of depression among gay men magnify drug use and unprotected sex, a new report shows.
"We’ve all suspected for a long time that risk taking was related to depression," said Spencer Cox, executive director of the Medius Institute, a gay men’s health group in New York City. Cox authored the report, titled "Living on the Edge: Gay Men, Depression and Risk-Taking."
Simply put, depression increases the rate of risk-taking, Cox said. This is alarming because of the increased rate of depression among gay men. One study in the report found that 17 percent of participants had active symptoms of depression—about twice the rate of the general population.
According to "Living on the Edge," other studies show that the lifetime risk of depression is about three times higher for gay men. "Consequently, gay men have much higher levels of risk-taking behaviors," Cox said.
"Living on the Edge," released last Tuesday, examines at how these issues are related. It culls publicly available research published during the past two decades.
(Keep Reading:NewYorkBlade)
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