title: Worsening epidemic of HIV and syphilis among men who have sex with men in Jiangsu Province, China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Epidemics of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and syphilis among men who have sex with men (MSM) are major public health concerns in most parts of China. A dearth of information regarding the current trend of HIV in this hard-to-reach population in several regions including Jiangsu, coupled with the reemergence of syphilis, calls for an effort to understand the dynamics of the dual epidemic in this province.
  
  
  METHODS
  To estimate the occurrence and burden of these 2 sexually transmitted diseases and the distribution of their potential sociobehavioral correlates among MSM in Jiangsu, 2 cohort studies were conducted in Yangzhou and Changzhou cities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 839 participants, 48% were married, 51.7% had sex with women in the last 6 months, and 25.5% did not use condoms during their last anal intercourse. The observed incidence of HIV was 13.59 and 12.62 and that of syphilis was 7.33 and 13.25 per 100 person-years among the participants of Yangzhou and Changzhou, respectively. The baseline prevalence of HIV and syphilis was 16.0% and 29.9% in Yangzhou and 13.6% and 14.9% in Changzhou, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Considerably high incidence and prevalence of HIV and syphilis among participants and their potential bridging role in transmitting these infections to the general population in Yangzhou and Changzhou cities calls for urgent effective intervention strategies.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Tao
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Weiming
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Henan Provincial Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Zhengzhou, Henan.
authors.forename: Zhan-Pei
authors.initials: ZP
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: National Center for STD Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Tanmay
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mahapatra
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Xi-Ping
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Huan
authors.affiliation: National Center for STD Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Yue-Ping
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Liang
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Center for STD Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Xiang-Sheng
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Geng-Feng
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Fu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001727:Bisexuality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D058872:Epidemics; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013587:Syphilis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D047568:Unsafe Sex / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: China; HIV; MSM; STDs