title: Syndemic factors associated with drinking patterns among Latino men and Latina transgender women who have sex with men in New York City.
abstract: Alcohol consumption is a significant public health concern among Latino men and Latina transgender women who have sex with men. However, characteristics and behaviors associated with alcohol consumption in this population, particularly in regard to the complex influence of syndemic factors, remain understudied. The purpose of this study was to examine predictors of high-risk alcohol consumption (i.e. binge or heavy drinking). Between January and March of 2014, 176 Latino men and Latina transgender women in New York City completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire. We developed a syndemics scale to reflect the total number of syndemic factors - clinically significant depression, childhood sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, and discrimination - reported by each participant. We also carried out a multinomial logistic regression model predicting binge and heavy drinking. Forty-seven percent of participants reported high-risk alcohol consumption in the past 30 days (21% binge and 26% heavy). Approximately 16% of participants reported no syndemic factors, 27% reported one factor, 39% reported two factors, and 18% reported three or four. In the multinomial logistic regression model, our syndemic factors scale was not significantly associated with binge drinking. However, participants who reported three or four factors were significantly more likely to report heavy drinking. In addition, having multiple sexual partners was associated with an increased risk of binge and heavy drinking; involvement in a same-sex relationship was associated with binge drinking. Further work is needed to develop effective prevention intervention approaches for high-risk alcohol consumption within this population.
authors.affiliation: Temple University School of Social Work, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work at Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Elwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department College of Liberal Arts at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Ethan C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.affiliation: College of Public Health at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muñoz-Laboy
authors.affiliation: Bureau of Public Health Statistics, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spadafino
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health at Indiana University - Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dodge
authors.affiliation: Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Scott D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Rhodes
authors.affiliation: HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Javier López
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Rios
authors.affiliation: Lutheran Family Health Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ovejero
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work at the University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Eva M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Moya
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work at the University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Silvia Chavez
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Baray
authors.affiliation: HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carballo-Diéguez
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health at Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA.
authors.forename: M Isabel
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Fernandez
keywords: Latina transgender women; Latino MSM; Syndemic factors; binge drinking; heavy drinking; intimate partner violence; mental health; sexual behaviors