High-risk behaviour in young men attending sexually transmitted disease clinics in Pune, India

Abstract

The present study reports sexual risk factors associated with HIV infection among men attending two sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics in Pune, India and compares these behaviours between young and older men. Between April 1998 and May 2000, 1,872 STD patients were screened for HIV infection. Data on demographics, medical history and sexual behaviour were collected at baseline. The overall HIV prevalence was 22.2%. HIV risk was associated with being divorced or widowed, less educated, living away from the family, having multiple sexual partners and initiation of sex at an early age. The risk behaviours in younger men were different to older men. Younger men were more likely to report early age of initiation of sex, having friends, acquaintances or commercial sex workers as their regular partners, having premarital sex and bisexual orientation. Young men were more educated and reported condom use more frequently compared with the older men. Similar high HIV prevalence among younger and older men highlights the need for focused targeted interventions aimed at adolescents and young men and also appropriate interventions for older men to reduce the risk of HIV and STD acquisition.

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the support given by the authorities of the collaborating hospitals, Sassoon General Hospital and Dr Kotnis Municipal Dispensary. We thank HIVNET study staff from the National AIDS Research Institute for excellent counselling, meticulous data collection, clinical care and laboratory work. We give special thanks to Dr Shruti Metha and Ms Mary Shepherd from Johns Hopkins University, USA, for giving suggestions during the development of the manuscript and for help in data management of the study.

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH A1-33879 and RR-00722), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Family Health International (FHI), USA, and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India.