Characteristics of recently HIV-infected men who use the Internet to find male sex partners and sexual practices with those partners.
OBJECTIVE
To examine (1) characteristics of recently HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) who find sex partners through the Internet and (2) differences in characteristics of and sexual behaviors practiced with Internet partners as compared to other partner types.


METHODS
From May 2002 to 2005, a computer-assisted self-interview was administered to 194 recently HIV-infected MSM in southern California. MSM who used the Internet to find sex partners were compared with those who did not report Internet use, and partners found from the Internet were compared with those who were found from other venues using chi analyses, t tests, logistic regression, and generalized estimating equations.


RESULTS
Seventy percent of participants reported using the Internet to find partners in the prior 3 months. In multivariate analysis, Internet users as compared to non-Internet users reported higher education levels (some college vs. high school: odds ratio [OR] = 5.04; P < 0.01 and college or greater vs. high school: OR = 9.61; P = 0.01), were more likely to be white (OR = 2.16; P = 0.04), reported more partners in the prior 3 months (OR = 1.05; P = 0.04), were more likely to have had sexual contact with all their last 3 partners after HIV diagnosis (OR = 3.43; P < 0.01), and were more likely to report that all their last 3 partners were HIV-negative (OR = 3.35; P = 0.02), but none were main partners (OR = 2.36; P = 0.02). When compared with partners who were found in other venues, Internet partners were less likely to be main partners (OR = 0.52; P < 0.01) and were more likely to be younger (OR = 0.98; P = 0.05), to be HIV-negative (OR = 1.88; P = 0.02), and to become sex partners after HIV diagnosis (OR = 1.58; P = 0.03).


CONCLUSIONS
The Internet is a popular venue for recently HIV-infected MSM to find partners, many of whom are HIV-negative. Because finding sex partners through the Internet occurs after HIV diagnosis, the Internet could be a valuable target for new HIV prevention strategies.
Smith
Davey M
DM
University of California-San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive 0679, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. davey@ucsd.edu
Drumright
Lydia N
LN
Frost
Simon D W
SD
Cheng
W Susan
WS
Espitia
Stephen
S
Daar
Eric S
ES
Little
Susan J
SJ
Gorbach
Pamina M
PM
D000328:Adult; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*