Sale of sex for drugs and drugs for sex: an economic context of sexual risk behavior for STDs.
OBJECTIVE
Persons who participate in behaviors such as drug use and buying or selling sex are at elevated risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STD)/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the economic structure supporting drug use and the buying and selling of sex services in two urban Houston communities.


METHODS
Residents of two Houston communities participated in street-intercept interviews to obtain information on sex and drug use behaviors.


RESULTS
Many members of the population reported having bought or sold sex. A history of crack use significantly predicted the trading of sex for money and drugs, and sellers of sex were more likely to have engaged in recent high-risk sexual behavior than those who had never sold sex.


CONCLUSIONS
The data are suggestive of an underground economy for the exchange of sex for drugs or money, the existence of which facilitates the spread of STDs in high-risk communities.
Baseman
J
J
School of Public Health, University of Texas, Houston 77225, USA.
Ross
M
M
Williams
M
M
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D011477:Sex Work / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology; D014504:Urban Health