Union break-up after HIV diagnosis among sub-Saharan African migrants in France: disclosing HIV status is linked with staying in union

ABSTRACT

Sub-Saharan African migrants living in France are particularly affected by HIV. Due to the fear of sexual transmission of the virus, those in a relationship could experience a union break-up after an HIV diagnosis. Based on data from the time-event ANRS-Parcours survey that was conducted among a representative sample of sub-Saharan migrants living with HIV (France, 2012–2013), we studied union break-ups after HIV diagnosis among people who were in a relationship at the time of their diagnosis. Women experienced a more rapid union break-up after HIV diagnosis than did men. The living conditions of men were not correlated to their risk of union break-up while among women, having a personal dwelling reduced the risk of union break-up. For both sexes, less established relationships were more likely to break up after HIV diagnosis. Having disclosed the HIV status to a partner was associated with a reduced risk of separation between partners, after adjustment on socio-economic conditions and migration characteristics.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV diagnosis
• sub-Saharan migrants
• union break-up
• living conditions
• France

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the persons who participated in the study; the RAAC-Sida, COMEDE, FORIM and SOS Hepatitis Associations for their support in preparing and conducting the survey; G. Vivier, E. Lelièvre (Ined) and A. Gervais (AP-HP) for their support in preparing the questionnaire; H. Panjo for statistical support; A. Guillaume for communication tools; the ClinSearch and Ipsos societies for data collection; and the staff at all participating centers.

The ANRS-Parcours survey was supported by the French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis (ANRS) and the General Direction of Health (DGS, French Ministry of Health). The sponsor of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation or the writing of the paper.

The authors also thank the French National Agency for research on AIDS and Viral hepatitis (ANRS) for funding the PhD research of which this study is part.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Mireille Le Guen http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2485-1646

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Agence Nationale de Recherches sur le Sida et les Hépatites Virales.