Can self-reported behavioral factors predict incident sexually transmitted diseases in high-risk African-American men?
The known link between sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), coupled with the increasing prevalence of HIV in African-American men, makes understanding STD transmission trends in this group important for directing future preventive measures. The goal of this study was to determine if self-reported behavioral factors are predictive of incident sexually transmitted diseases in a group of high risk, HIV-negative African-American men. Five hundred and sixty-two "high risk" (defined as having four or more partners in the last year or having been diagnosed with an STD in the last year) HIV-negative African-American men were administered a baseline behavioral survey and followed to detect an incident STD. Overall, 19% (n = 108) of the patients acquired an incident STD during the study period. In multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis, the only factor associated with an incident STD was age < or = 19 (hazard ratio, 2.16; 95% confidence interval, 1.03 to 4.54). No other risk factors were statistically significant. In conclusion, self-reported behavioral factors, such as substance use and sexual practices, do not seem to be a good measure of STD risk among a group of high risk, HIV-negative, African-American men.
Slavinsky
J
J
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Department of Medicine, New Orleans 70112, USA.
Rosenberg
D M
DM
DiCarlo
R P
RP
Kissinger
P
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D015995:Prevalence; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000635:transmission; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000208:ethnology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology