Correlates of HIV-infection among men who have sex with men: results from a community-based, cross-sectional study in Tianjin, China

ABSTRACT

China has 747,000 confirmed HIV/AIDS cases and sexual transmission between men who have sex with men (MSM) is the most prevalent mode of transmission. Our study aims to (a) examine HIV prevalence and behavioral risk factors for HIV infection among 1900 MSM recruited from a community-based organization in Tianjin, China, and (b) describe HIV treatment outcomes for those diagnosed with HIV. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify which socio-demographics and behaviors were associated with HIV infection. The overall HIV prevalence was 3.95%. Key behavioral risk factors included: receptive sex role, older age at first sex with man, condomless anal sex, and having used 2+ drugs. Of those living with HIV, 83% were successfully enrolled in antiretroviral therapy and those enrolled were all virally suppressed after one year. These findings highlight key behavioral risk factors for HIV infection in Tianjin, China and can inform interventions to preventing further HIV transmission.

KEYWORDS:

• China
• men who have sex with men
• HIV-infection

Acknowledgments

The authors thank GAP program office of U.S CDC, for providing consultancy on the development of the survey protocol and helping modify the article. They also wish to acknowledge the Office of Global Public Health at the University of Michigan School of Public Health for financial support of the time for writing this manuscript. The authors also thank the MSM community-based organizations, Tianjin ShenLan Public Health Consulting Service Center’s Staff, who assisted with the revision of the survey questionnaire, community mobilization, and conducting the on-site questionnaire surveys. The authors also extend their gratitude to all of the men who participated in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

E. J. King http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8465-4607

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Office of Global Public Health at the University of Michigan.