title: Bisexuality, sexual risk taking, and HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men accessing voluntary counseling and testing services in Mumbai, India.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe sociodemographics, sexual risk behavior, and estimate HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Mumbai, India.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight hundred thirty-one MSM attending voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) services at the Humsafar Trust, answered a behavioral questionnaire and consented for Venereal Disease Research Laboratory and HIV testing from January 2003 through December 2004. Multivariate logistic regression was performed for sociodemographics, sexual risk behavior, and STIs with HIV result as an outcome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HIV prevalence among MSM was 12.5%. MSM who were illiterate [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.28; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08 to 4.84], married (AOR 2.70; 95% CI: 1,56 to 4.76), preferred male partners (AOR 4.68; 95% CI: 1.90 to 11.51), had partners of both genders (AOR 2.73; 95% CI: 1.03 to 7.23), presented with an STI (AOR 3.31; 95% CI: 1.96 to 5.61); or presented with a reactive venereal disease research laboratory test (AOR 4.92; 95% CI: 2.55 to 9.53) at their VCT visit were more likely to be HIV infected.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MSM accessing VCT services in Mumbai have a high risk of STI and HIV acquisition. Culturally appropriate interventions that focus on sexual risk behavior and promote condom use among MSM, particularly the bridge population of bisexual men, are needed to slow the urban Indian AIDS epidemic.
authors.affiliation: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Sameer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumta
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lurie
authors.forename: Sherry
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weitzen
authors.forename: Hemangi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jerajani
authors.forename: Alka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gogate
authors.forename: Ashok
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Row-kavi
authors.forename: Vivek
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Anand
authors.forename: Harvey
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Makadon
authors.forename: Kenneth H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Mayer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001727:Bisexuality; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012309:Risk-Taking; D021841:Safe Sex; D055815:Young Adult