Les prises de risque sexuel liées au VIH-sida chez les homosexuels masculins : synthèse des recherches sociologiques et psychologiques,perspectives cliniques

The main object of this article is to introduce and critically discuss international research in sociology and psychology dealing with the issue of sexual risk behaviour in male homosexuals in context with HIV. Based on the example of France, epidemiological statistics in fact show that some homosexuals systematically abstain from safer sexual intercourse despite the information they possess about the modalities of HIV transmission. Considering that HIV prevalence is almost 120 times greater in the homosexual than it is in the heterosexual population, this relative failure of prevention is a major challenge to public health. This article reviews risk behaviour research and differentiates between studies basing their methods on preformed questionnaires which are passed on to cohorts of subjects and statistically evaluated on the one hand and studies allowing the subjects to detail on their subjective experience in a more particular manner. It is this second type of studies, which especially seems to be apt to produce heuristic data needed in clinical psychopathology. In order to complete this review, the article presents the results of clinical research performed on this subject by the two authors. Based on an atypical clinical case the relevance of a psychopathological analysis of male homosexuals’ risk behaviour taking the unconscious dimension of the psyche into account is shown.     

Deep venous thrombosis: epidemiology,acquired risk factors

Deep vein thrombosis is a frequent disease with an annual incidence reaching 5 per thousand among subjects over 75 years. Major acquired risk factors for venous thrombosis include surgery, neoplasm, reduced mobility or paresis, and a previous episode of deep vein thrombosis. Among women, hormonal status (pregnancy, oral contraceptive, hormone replacement therapy) is responsible for the majority of all venous thrombotic events. The impact of other factors is controversial: obesity, tobacco use and varicose veins. Venous thrombosis is a multifactorial disease and analysis of the interactions between acquired and inherited risk factors is an extremely interesting field of investigation.