Patients often hide sexual orientation

NEW YORK, July 24 (UPI) -- Thirty-nine percent of men in New York City who have sex with other men do not disclose their sexual orientation to their doctors, health officials said.

Healthcare providers, who know about their patients' sexual behavior, can help prevent HIV infection through testing, counseling and other services, officials said.

The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, examined data from the 2004 to 2005 Centers for Disease Control National HIV Behavioral Survey.

For the survey, men at gay bars and clubs were interviewed anonymously, tested for HIV and offered medical and social services as needed. The New York City Health Department analyzed data for the 452 survey participants who lived in New York City.

The study showed that men who disclose having sex with men were twice as likely as those who did not to have been tested for HIV -- 63 percent versus 36 percent.

The current national guidelines, adopted in 2006 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, call on healthcare providers to offer HIV tests to all patients between the ages of 13 and 64, officials said.