Eight times more young adults now take HIV prevention meds
More young Americans are taking antiretroviral meds to protect them from HIV infection than a decade ago. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Eight times more young Americans are taking antiretroviral meds to protect them from HIV infection than a decade ago, a new study says.
About 208 of every 100,000 U.S. young adults were using pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, to prevent becoming infected with HIV in 2023, researchers reported recently in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
That's up from 26 of 100,000 who filled a prescription for PrEP pills in 2016, researchers found in their analysis of data for 18- to 25-year-olds.
"This is a patient population we often neglect in health care, because we don't think about them belonging to pediatric care or adult care, and their stage of cognitive development means they underestimate their STI [sexually transmitted infection] risk in general - yet they're one of the highest risk groups for a new diagnosis of HIV," said lead researcher Dr. Nina Hill, a general internist and pediatrician at the University of Michigan Medical School.
"We're encouraged to see more prescribing over time, but the question remains: are we getting it to the highest-risk patients?" Hill added in a news release.
For the study, researchers analyzed records on more than 1.4 million PrEP prescriptions dispensed to nearly 240,000 young adults between 2016 and 2023.
The first PrEP medication, Truvada, was introduced in 2012 and became available as a generic drug in 2020, researchers said in background notes. A second oral option, Descovy, became available in 2019.
The drugs reduce the chances of acquiring HIV through sex by 99%, when taken consistently as prescribed, researchers said.
Nearly 9 of 10 (87%) of the prescriptions went to men, but Hill noted that some women also are at risk for HIV and could be eligible for PrEP.
Unfortunately, results also showed that the length of time a person remained on PrEP declined by more than two weeks.
This might indicate inconsistent use of PrEP, or show that young adults have trouble keeping up with the appointments and tests needed to continue the medication, researchers said.
Nurse practitioners accounted for 39% of the prescriptions, while family doctors handed out 22% of the scrips, results show. Internists and physician assistants accounted for 14% and 11%, respectively.
PrEP has been recommended since 2019 by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for teens and adults with an increased risk of acquiring HIV, researchers said.
Under the Affordable Care Act, most insurance programs are required to make PrEP and HIV screening available to patients at no cost.
However, the ACA's preventive care provisions are now under review at the U.S. Supreme Court, and a ruling is expected soon.
More information
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has more on pre-exposure prophylaxis.
Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Cavities in children could increase by millions if fluoride is banned, study suggests
The Brief An estimated 25.4 million more teeth will result in tooth decay in the next five years if fluoride is banned from the U.S. public water supply, according to a recent model simulation. The study also predicted an estimated $9.8 billion will be spent on additional dental care over the next five years. Some states like Utah and Florida have already banned fluoride from the state's public water supply. Researchers created a model to estimate the impact a ban on fluoride in the United States water supply would have on children's dental health and the results are bleak. The simulations estimated that a ban would result in tooth decay in 25.4 million more teeth, which is equivalent to a decayed tooth for one out of every three children over the next five years. The results were published in Jama Health Forum on May 30. "There's strong evidence from other countries and cities, such as Calgary in Canada, showing that when fluoride is eliminated, dental disease increases. Our study offers a window into what would happen in the United States if water fluoridation ceased," Lisa Simon, MD, DMD, and senior author of the study, said. Why you should care Not only would eliminating fluoride increase the occurrence of tooth decay, but the estimated cost of dental care would rise exponentially, according to the study. By the numbers The models simulated the potential dental care costs over five and 10 years. $9.8 billion in additional dental care costs over five years $19.4 billion in additional dental care costs over 10 years "Most of the increased cost could be attributed to publicly insured children, meaning it would be a direct public health cost," said Simon. Dig deeper Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the CDC. In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and in 1962 set guidelines for how much should be added to water. Fluoride can come from several sources, but drinking water is the main one for Americans, researchers say. Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population gets fluoridated drinking water, according to CDC data. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water was long considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century. The American Dental Association credits it with reducing tooth decay by more than 25% in children and adults. About one-third of community water systems — 17,000 out of 51,000 across the U.S. — serving more than 60% of the population fluoridated their water, according to a 2022 CDC analysis. What they're saying "We know fluoride works. We're able to show just how much it works for most communities and how much people stand to lose if we get rid of it," said Simon. Big picture view U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he wants communities to stop fluoridating water, and he is setting the gears of government in motion to help make that happen. Kennedy has said he plans to tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoridation in communities nationwide. And he said he's assembling a task force of health experts to study the issue and make new recommendations. Two states have already banned adding fluoride to public water systems. These include Florida and Utah. The Source Information for this article was taken from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, a study that observed oral health and water fluoridation data collected from 8,484 children aged 0-19 which was published in JAMA on May 30, 2025, a Mass General Brigham news release about the study, and reporting by The Associated Press. This story was reported from Los Angeles.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Italy's Mount Etna erupts, forcing tourists to flee
June 2 (UPI) -- Italy's Mount Etna on the island of Sicily erupted Monday spewing ash and hot lava that sent tourists, who were summiting the mountain, fleeing. The massive eruption also collapsed the volcano's southeast crater. The 10,925-foot mountain is one of the world's most active volcanoes. Monday's eruption is the largest since 2014, according to Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology Observatory, which noted "explosions of increasing intensity" that were "almost continuous." The observatory shared video on its Facebook page, showing the large eruption and collapse of Etna's southeast crater. "An interdisciplinary group of researchers from the PRIN-Volando project, among which INGV staff were present sends us a video of the pyroclastic flow that happened recently," INGV wrote in a post. INGV Vulcani later wrote that "the Southeast Crater has become a lava fountain," as the group revealed infrared images of lava flowing down the mountain. The observatory said it first recorded changes in the mountain as volcanic tremors hit at 11:39 p.m., local time, before confirming there was a "Strombolian" eruption, which included intermittent explosions. Etna is the most active volcano in Europe and the most active stratovolcano -- a conical mountain with a central crater -- in the world. Mount Etna erupts at least once every year with its last significant eruption in 2024 and before that in 2023, when flights near Sicily were grounded. Air travel on Monday was not impacted, but tourists summiting the mountain were forced to flee to safety. Monday's eruption is posing no danger to the island's population, according to officials. "Over the past few hours, the falling of a little thin ash has been flagged in the Piano Vetore area," INGV said, as the observatory announced that the eruption is over.
Epoch Times
3 hours ago
- Epoch Times
All Americans Traveling Abroad Should Get Measles Vaccine, CDC Says
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a major update to its measles vaccination guidance, urging all Americans traveling internationally—regardless of destination—to get vaccinated amid a resurgence of the disease in the United States and abroad. 'All international travelers should be fully vaccinated against measles with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine,' the CDC
