Chunk #31 — RESULTS — CHRONIC AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE CONDITIONS WHERE ALCOHOL IS A COMPONENT CAUSE — HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS / ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME (HIV/AIDS)
relationship between alcohol consumption and unprotected sex is examined within event-level contexts (e.g., based on daily diary assessments), the relationship weakens, and in many cases, disappears [47;49-52]. These findings therefore suggest that alcohol consumption on its own may not be causally linked to the active behaviours that are required in order for HIV acquisition to take place. Rather, alcohol use may serve as a marker for other variables that potentially underlie the association between alcohol and unprotected sex, including personality characteristics such as sexual compulsivity [53] or sensation seeking [54;55], and/or psychiatric conditions such as anti-social personality disorder [56] Thus, sufficient evidence for causality of the impact of alcohol on HIV incidence could not be concluded (see also the reasoning in [45]). Without going into further details, the same kind of reasoning would hold for other sexually transmissible diseases.
