TY - JOUR
T1 - High Prevalence of Multiple Syndemic Conditions Associated with Sexual Risk Behavior and HIV Infection Among a Large Sample of Spanish- and Portuguese-Speaking Men Who Have Sex with Men in Latin America
AU - Mimiaga, Matthew J.
AU - Biello, Katie B.
AU - Robertson, Angela M.
AU - Oldenburg, Catherine E.
AU - Rosenberger, Joshua G.
AU - O’Cleirigh, Conall
AU - Novak, David S.
AU - Mayer, Kenneth H.
AU - Safren, Steven
PY - 2015/10/7
Y1 - 2015/10/7
N2 - The HIV epidemic in Latin America is highly concentrated in men who have sex with men (MSM). In the United States, multiple co-occurring psychosocial conditions have been shown to act as intertwined epidemics to potentiate HIV transmission among MSM. To date, no study has examined the role of syndemics and condomless sex among MSM in Latin America. In 2012, an online survey was conducted among members of the largest social/sexual networking website for MSM in Latin America. Participants were asked about demographics, sexual behaviors, HIV/STI diagnoses, and psychosocial well-being, including depression, suicidal ideation, hazardous alcohol use, hard drug use during sex, history of childhood/adolescent sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, and sexual compulsivity. Multivariable logistic generalized estimation equations were used to assess the relationship of syndemic factors and (1) engagement in higher risk condomless anal sex and (2) self-report of prior HIV diagnosis. Among 24,274 survey respondents, 74.6 % of the sample had at least one syndemic factor. In an additive model, syndemics were associated with increased odds of higher risk condomless anal sex, ranging from adjusted odds ratio of 1.31 (95 % CI 1.20, 1.43) for one syndemic factor to 4.06 (95 % CI 3.25, 5.09) for 6/7 syndemic factors. Similarly, syndemics were associated with increased odds of HIV infection (p
AB - The HIV epidemic in Latin America is highly concentrated in men who have sex with men (MSM). In the United States, multiple co-occurring psychosocial conditions have been shown to act as intertwined epidemics to potentiate HIV transmission among MSM. To date, no study has examined the role of syndemics and condomless sex among MSM in Latin America. In 2012, an online survey was conducted among members of the largest social/sexual networking website for MSM in Latin America. Participants were asked about demographics, sexual behaviors, HIV/STI diagnoses, and psychosocial well-being, including depression, suicidal ideation, hazardous alcohol use, hard drug use during sex, history of childhood/adolescent sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, and sexual compulsivity. Multivariable logistic generalized estimation equations were used to assess the relationship of syndemic factors and (1) engagement in higher risk condomless anal sex and (2) self-report of prior HIV diagnosis. Among 24,274 survey respondents, 74.6 % of the sample had at least one syndemic factor. In an additive model, syndemics were associated with increased odds of higher risk condomless anal sex, ranging from adjusted odds ratio of 1.31 (95 % CI 1.20, 1.43) for one syndemic factor to 4.06 (95 % CI 3.25, 5.09) for 6/7 syndemic factors. Similarly, syndemics were associated with increased odds of HIV infection (p
KW - HIV
KW - Internet
KW - Latin America
KW - Men who have sex with men
KW - Sexual behavior
KW - Sexual orientation
KW - Syndemics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84940901650&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84940901650&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10508-015-0488-2
DO - 10.1007/s10508-015-0488-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 26159862
AN - SCOPUS:84940901650
VL - 44
SP - 1869
EP - 1878
JO - Archives of Sexual Behavior
JF - Archives of Sexual Behavior
SN - 0004-0002
IS - 7
ER -