Women Connected to at Risk Indian Men Who Have Sex with Men: An Unexplored Network.
Little is known about the women connected to Indian MSM and their impact on HIV risk. We surveyed 240 Indian MSM, who identified their social networks (n = 7,092). Women (n = 1,321) comprised 16.7 % of the network, with 94.7 % representing non-sexual connections. MSM were classified as having low, moderate, or high female network proportion. MSM with moderate female network proportion (8-24 % total network) had significantly lowered odds of HIV seropositivity (AOR = 0.24, 95 % CI = 0.1-0.6). This suggests moderate proportions of female connections could mediate HIV risk. HIV prevention interventions in India could consider the greater involvement of women among their target audiences. Se sabe poco sobre las mujeres conectadas a HSH en India y su impacto en el riesgo de VIH. Se encuestó a 240 HSH indios, quienes identificaron sus redes sociales (n = 7,092). Las mujeres (n = 1,321) formaron al 16.7 % de la red, del cual el 94.7 % representa conexiones no sexuales. Los HSH se clasificaron como baja, moderada o alta proporción de red femenina. HSH con proporción moderada de red femenina (8-24 % del red total) tuvieron un riesgo significativamente reducido de seropositividad de VIH (AOR = 0,24; IC 95 % = 0,1-0,6). Esto sugiere que tener una proporción moderada de contactos femeninos podría atenuar el riesgo de VIH. Las intervenciones de prevención del VIH en India podrían considerar una mayor participación de las mujeres en su público objetivo.
Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA.
Sammita
S
Satyanarayan
Abhinav
A
Kapur
Sameena
S
Azhar
Vijay
V
Yeldandi
John A
JA
Schneider
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D006306:Health Surveys; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D012747:Sexual Partners; D060756:Social Networking; D016387:Women's Health; D055815:Young Adult