New STD Risk

STD rates higher among men taking ED drugs.
Bloomberg News (7/6, Ostrow) reports, "Men taking drugs for sexual potency showed almost triple the rate of sexually transmitted diseases compared with those not taking the medications." In fact, the "higher rate of infections was seen in the year before and after the men started taking the prescription medicines," Harvard researchers explained. Investigators "looked at health insurance claims from 44 large US employers from 1997, one year before Viagra [sildenafil] was introduced, through 2006."
The "most frequently reported STD was HIV/AIDS, followed by chlamydia," HealthDay (7/5, Behen) noted. The study's lead investigator, Dr. Anupam B. Jena, "speculated that HIV/AIDS was the most frequently reported STD because 'the symptoms that are associated with a primary HIV infection are the kinds of things that make men more likely to show up to a doctor, rather than go to a free clinic where they know they can get tested for an STD anonymously.'" In conclusion, the findings detailed in the Annals of Internal Medicine "suggest a need for greater responsibility in prescribing ED medications." The Boston Globe (7/5, Cooney) "White Coat Notes" blog also covered the study.