14 DAY TRIAL // A recent survey on men's sexual orientation, conducted by a team of experts at the New York City Health Department, found that a large number of New York men state that they are straight, in spite of the fact that they have gay sexual relationships on a regular basis.
Dr. Preeti Pathela, who led the research, cautioned that doctors should not trust their patients when asking about their sexual lives and sexual orientation, because they might easily lie about being gay. This is why physicians should regularly check on their patients' risk of HIV and other STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections).
The findings of a 2003 New York Health Department survey, investigating men's sexual orientation, showed that only 4% of the interviewed subjects admitted to be homosexual, 91% stated they were definitely straight and the other 4% said they were "unsure", meaning that they were bisexual.
However, of the 91% men who said they only had straight sex, 10% were found to have had sexual intercourse with other men during the past 12 months. The current research also showed that foreign men living in New York were more likely to lie about their sexual orientation than their US-born peers.
The team explained that men coming from other cultural backgrounds than the American one could have concealed their sexual orientation because the cultural norms imposed to them while brought up were more restrictive, considering gay sex a major sin.
"It is of utmost importance for providers to take a sexual history that ascertains the sex of (the) partner or partners. Given our data, asking about a patient's sexual identity will not adequately assess his risk," concluded the New York team.