Gay and bisexual men of black ethnicity are disproportionately more likely to be living with diagnosed HIV than white British men, with no evidence that this health inequality has narrowed since 2001, according to a report published online ahead of print in Sexually Transmitted Infections.

The data come from the 2014 Gay Men’s Sex Survey, a convenience sample of 15,388 men recruited online.

While 11.3% of white British men who had ever taken a test were diagnosed with HIV, this was the case for 12.9% of black men. After taking into account other factors likely to skew the results, black men were more likely to be diagnosed with HIV (adjusted odds ratio 1.53) and more likely to have been diagnosed in the year before the survey (adjusted odds ratio 2.57).

This is comparable to results from the 2001 Gay Men’s Sex Survey, which also found black men more likely to have HIV (adjusted odds ratio 2.26). Other studies have had similar results – but also found that black men were less likely to engage in HIV risk behaviours and more likely to engage in HIV precautionary behaviours. Read more via AIDSmap