Less than half the gay men in the UK are "out" to their doctors, in many cases because they are concerned about judgmental attitudes or issues of confidentiality, according to a report published yesterday.

Doctoring Gay Men, by Sigma Research, says only 7% of men went to their GP for their last sexual health check-up or HIV test.

"It's a combination of issues. Some feel it's none of the doctor's business; some feel that GPs haven't demonstrated that they won't be bigoted," Ford Hickson, one of the researchers, said.

"We don't have a position that gay men should be out to their doctors. But they should feel that they are able to be," he said

Black and Asian men who had sex with men were less likely to disclose their sexuality to their GPs than white men.