title: Gay Asian men in San Francisco follow the international trend: increases in rates of unprotected anal intercourse and sexually transmitted diseases, 1999-2002.
abstract: Worldwide, studies of men who have sex with men (MSM) report increases in HIV risk-related behavior. Less is known about trends within minority subpopulations of MSM, particularly those of Asian and Pacific Islander (A&PI) ethnicity. A&PI MSM are underrepresented among AIDS cases (2.7%) with respect to their estimated makeup in the gay community of San Francisco (4.5%). However, recent trends in unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) and sexually transmitted diseases suggest a reversal in the relative risk for HIV among A&PI MSM compared with White MSM. Starting from lower levels in 1999, UAI with multiple partners, UAI with multiple partners of unknown HIV serostatus, the incidence of male rectal gonorrhea, and the incidence of early syphilis among A&PI MSM surpassed levels among White MSM by 2002. A window of opportunity to prevent further spread of HIV among A&PI MSM may be closing.
authors.affiliation: San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco, CA 94102-6033, USA. Willi.McFarland@sfdph.org
authors.forename: Willi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: McFarland
authors.forename: Sanny
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Darlene
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weide
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kohn
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Klausner
mesh_terms: D001208:Asia / Q000208:ethnology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012309:Risk-Taking; D021841:Safe Sex / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012495:San Francisco / Q000453:epidemiology; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012747:Sexual Partners; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population