ReviewThe lancet. HIV2021
Prioritising pleasure and correcting misinformation in the era of U=U.
Review in The lancet. HIV, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Disparities in Awareness, Willingness and Uptake of Biomedical HIV Prevention Among Bisexual and Gay Men: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2026Pooled it
- Estimating the effect of maternal viral load on perinatal and postnatal HIV transmission: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Lancet (London, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Sexual Behaviors and Awareness of U=U in People Living with HIV Receiving Antiretroviral Treatment In Northern Thailand.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- Assessment of U = U knowledge and influencing factors among the population in Henan Province China based on an internet-based survey.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The performance of low HIV viral load values for the diagnosis of acute HIV infection in the Beijing PRIMO cohort.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- The Implications of HIV Biomedical Prevention for Perceived HIV Risk and Psychosexual Health among Sexual Minority Men in the United States.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- Undetectable=Untransmittable Perception and Its Association with Sexual Risk Behaviors and Potential Physical and Psychological Benefits Among People Living with HIV/AIDS in Hunan, China.Patient preference and adherence · 2025Article
- The impact of Undetectable=Untransmittable and viral suppression on condomless sex among mixed HIV-status couples in Canada.PloS one · 2025Article
- Missed opportunity: low awareness of undetectable equals untransmittable (U = U) among adolescents living with HIV.AIDS research and therapy · 2024Article
- Ethical Considerations in Infodemic Management: Systematic Scoping Review.JMIR infodemiology · 2024Article
- Article
- Attitudes and Beliefs About HIV Treatment as Prevention Among People Who are Not Engaged in HIV Care, 2018-2019.AIDS and behavior · 2023Article
- A cross-sectional analysis of U=U as a potential educative Intervention to mitigate HIV stigma among youth living with HIV in South Africa.The Pan African medical journal · 2022Article
- HIV-Related Stigma Reduction in the Era of Undetectable Equals Untransmittable: The South Korean Perspective.Infection & chemotherapy · 2021Review
- The World Association for Sexual Health's Declaration on Sexual Pleasure: A Technical Guide.International journal of sexual health : official journal of the World Association for Sexual Health · 2021Article
- Sexual Pleasure and Healthcare Settings: Focusing on Pleasure to Improve Healthcare Delivery and Utilization.International journal of sexual health : official journal of the World Association for Sexual Health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
There is widespread unawareness and disbelief regarding the evidence-based conclusion that people who have a sustained undetectable HIV viral load cannot sexually transmit HIV-ie, undetectable=untransmittable (U=U). Long-standing, misguided fear about HIV transmission persists; consequently, so does the policing of sexual expression and the penalisation of pleasure faced by people with HIV. Many people with HIV with an undetectable viral load have unnecessarily abstained from condomless sex, avoided serodifferent partnering, and had anxiety about onward sexual transmission due to perceived HIV risk that is now known to be non-existent. Some health professionals have refrained from correcting this misinformation because of concerns that people with HIV will engage in more condomless sex or have more sexual partners upon learning of U=U. Withholding information about U=U is thus rooted in behavioural assumptions and is scientifically unfounded. Moreover, withholding such information violates medical ethics, perpetuates health inequities, and infringes on the sexual health and human rights of people with HIV. Health professionals and the broader public health community have an ethical responsibility to actively address misinformation about HIV transmission and disseminate the U=U message to all people.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.