Trending News Today: PrEP Use Among Urban MSM Increasing, But Many Still Lack Access

Although use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention has increased among men who have sex with men (MSM) in urban areas, a significant amount of this population still lack access to the medication, The American Journal of Managed Care reported. According to the article, the analysis showed that PrEP use among MSM increased approximately 500% from 2014 to 2017, but only approximately 1 in 3 men at risk of HIV reported using PrEP. Although most demographics reported increased use of PrEP, the findings indicated some racial disparities remained: 26% of blacks and 30% of Hispanics reported PrEP use compared with 42% of whites.

A new study found that many individuals continue to take daily aspirin for heart disease prevention, despite updated guidelines that overturned the recommendation for routine aspirin use in those who are otherwise healthy, The Associated Press reported. According to the article, the study showed that approximately 26 million individuals 40 years of age and older were taking an aspirin per day despite having no known evidence of heart disease in 2017, with 6.6 million doing so without a physician recommendation. Additionally, approximately half of individuals over the age of 70 who don’t have heart disease also reported daily aspirin use for prevention, the article reported.

A recent study suggests that a plant-based diet may be tied to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, Reuters reported. According to the article, researchers examined data from 9 previously published studies with a total of 307,099 participants, including 23,544 individuals who developed type 2 diabetes. Overall, the findings showed that those who most closely adhered to a vegan, vegetarian, or other plant-based diet were 23% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who consumed the least amount of plant-based meals, the article reported.