Alcohol and HIV transmission People who abuse alcohol are more likely to engage in behaviors that place them at risk for contracting HIV. For example, rates of injection drug use are high among alcoholics in treatment and increasing levels of alcohol ingestion are associated with greater injection drug-related risk behaviors, including needle sharing. A history of heavy alcohol use has been correlated with a lifetime tendency toward high-risk sexual behaviors, including multiple sex partners, unprotected intercourse, sex with high-risk partners (e.g., injection drug users, prostitutes), and the exchange of sex for money or drugs. There may be many reasons for this association. For example, alcohol can act directly on the brain to reduce inhibitions and diminish risk perception. However, expectations about alcohol’s effects may exert a more powerful influence on alcohol-involved sexual behavior. Studies consistently demonstrate that people who strongly believe that alcohol enhances sexual arousal and performance are more likely to practice risky sex after drinking. Alcohol and medical aspects of AIDS Alcohol increases susceptibility to some infections that can occur as complications of AIDS. Infections associated with both alcohol and AIDS include tuberculosis; pneumonia caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumonia; and the viral disease hepatitis C, a leading cause of death among people with HIV. Alcohol may also increase the severity of AIDS-related brain damage, which is characterized in its severest form by profound dementia and a high death rate. The progression of HIV and the development of AIDS- associated infections may be controlled by antiretroviral therapy (ART), a combination of powerful antiviral Alcoholism treatment as HIV prevention Studies show that decreasing alcohol use among HIV patients not only reduces the medical and psychiatric consequences associated with alcohol consumption but also decreases other drug use and HIV transmission. Thus, alcohol and other drug abuse treatment can be considered primary HIV prevention as well. According a 2019 report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1 in 10 HIV diagnoses occur among people who inject drugs. In 2016, injection drug use (IDU) contributed to nearly 20% of recorded HIV cases among men — more than 150,000 patients. Among females, 21% (about 50,000) of HIV cases were attributed to IDU (NIDA, 2019). New injection drug users who contract HIV or viral hepatitis often become infected within two years after beginning to inject drugs: ● People who inject drugs accounted for 7% of HIV diagnoses. ● Men who inject drugs accounted for 4% of HIV diagnoses. ● Women who inject drugs accounted for 3% of new diagnoses.
Some people report deliberately using alcohol during sexual encounters to provide an excuse for socially unacceptable behavior or to reduce their conscious awareness of risk. This practice may be especially common among men who have sex with men. This finding is consistent with the observation that men who drink prior to or during homosexual contact are more likely than heterosexuals to engage in high-risk sexual practices. Finally, the association between drinking levels and high- risk sexual behavior does not imply that alcohol necessarily plays a direct role in such behavior or that it causes high-risk behavior on every occasion. For example, bars and drinking parties serve as convenient social settings for meeting potential sexual partners. In addition, alcohol abuse occurs frequently among people whose lifestyle or personality predisposes them to high-risk behaviors in general. medications. Despite markedly increased survival rates, ART is associated with several disadvantages, including the emergence of medication-resistant HIV strains and the occurrence of adverse interactions with other medications, some of which are prescribed for AIDS-related infections. In addition, many patients fail to comply with the complex medication regimen. Studies have associated heavy alcohol use with decreased medication compliance as well as with poorer response to HIV therapy in general. The outcome of HIV therapy improved significantly among alcoholics who stopped drinking. Alcoholism and drug abuse prevention among youth is of particular importance. Researchers have found that: ● The prevalence of current, binge, and heavy drinking peaks between the ages of 18 and 24, which is a high- risk period for initiating injection drug use. ● Drug injection is usually associated with prior use of alcohol in conjunction with non-injection drugs, especially among adolescents with alcohol use disorders. ● High rates of risky sexual practices have been reported among adolescents and may be correlated with alcohol consumption. ● Participants who remained abstinent showed substantially greater improvement in both outcomes compared with those who continued to drink. ● Therefore, it has been suggested that HIV prevention programs for youth should target alcohol consumption in addition to injection drug use and sexual risk reduction.
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