Abstract
Indian men who have sex with men (MSM) are at increased risk for HIV compared to the general Indian population. Psychosocial factors may be uniquely associated with HIV risk among Indian MSM and may moderate the beneficial impact of standard HIV prevention approaches. Psychiatric diagnostic interviews and psychosocial and sexual risk assessments were conducted among 150 MSM in Mumbai, India. Logistic regression was employed to examine the association of psychiatric disorders and psychosocial problems to recent sexual risk behavior. Twenty-five percent of participants reported engaging in unprotected anal sex (UAS) during their last sexual contact with a man. Men who were married to a woman were more likely to have engaged in UAS during their last sexual contact with a man (35% vs. 17%, p=0.018). In multivariable models, significant predictors of engaging in UAS were current major depression (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=2.61; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07, 6.39) and number of stressful life events (AOR=0.91; 95% CI 0.83, 0.99). Alcohol dependence, anxiety, and self-esteem were not associated with engaging in UAS. Indian MSM with depression are at higher odds of engaging in UAS compared to MSM without depression. HIV prevention programs for Indian MSM may benefit from incorporating treatment or triage for mental health problems.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1109-1113 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | AIDS Care - Psychological and Socio-Medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 1 2013 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- HIV
- India
- Mumbai
- depression
- men who have sex with men (MSM)
- mental health
- minority stress
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Health(social science)
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health