Abstract
Sexual minority men (e.g., gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men) experience stigma and sexual minority stress, which are theorized to drive negative health outcomes. Sexual minority men with treated HIV display persistent immune dysregulation, which could be amplified by sexual minority stress responses to potentiate cellular aging.
This cross-sectional study included 52 sexual minority men living with HIV who had undetectable viral load (< 40 copies/mL) and biologically confirmed recent methamphetamine use. Participants completed measures assessing sexual minority stress and openness about sexual minority status (i.e., outness). DNA methylation-derived outcomes included: the extrinsic epigenetic age acceleration (EEAA) clock, telomere length, naïve CD4+ T-helper cells, and naïve CD8+ T-cytotoxic/suppressor cells.
After adjusting for negative affect and recent stimulant use, higher sexual minority stress was associated with a faster EEAA clock (β = 0.29, p = 0.030), shorter telomere length (β = -0.43, p = 0.002), and fewer naïve CD4+ (β = -0.57, p < 0.001) and naïve CD8+ T-cells (β = -0.57, p < 0.001). Greater outness was associated with higher naïve CD4+ (β = 0.32, p = 0.030) and naïve CD8+ T-cells (β = 0.38, p = 0.008) as well as lower plasma interleukin-6 (β = -0.33, p = 0.027).
Sexual minority stress processes are associated with markers of cellular aging and inflammation in methamphetamine-using sexual minority men living with HIV. Longitudinal research should elucidate bio-behavioral mechanisms linking sexual minority stress processes with accelerated cellular aging in those with and without HIV.
Copyright © 2022 by the American Psychosomatic Society.