Open AccessRisk factors for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in homosexual men.
Author(s) -
William W. Darrow,
Dean F. Echenberg,
Harold W. Jaffe,
Paul M. O'Malley,
Robert H. Byers,
Jane P. Getchell,
James W. Curran
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.77.4.479
Subject(s) - medicine , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , immunology , homosexuality , sexual intercourse , viral disease , hepatitis b virus , multivariate analysis , hepatitis b , virology , demography , virus , environmental health , population , psychology , sociology , psychoanalysis
To clarify risk factors for infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) we selected at random 785 homosexual men who had participated in studies of hepatitis B in San Francisco in 1978-80 for a follow-up study of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Although most had not been contacted in over five years, 492 (63 per cent) were located and enrolled. The 240 (67 per cent) who had developed antibodies to HIV, as measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), were compared with 119 who had remained seronegative. In multivariate analyses, receptive anal intercourse with ejaculation by nonsteady sexual partners, many sexual partners per month, and other indicators of high levels of sexual activity were highly associated with seroconversions. None of the sexual practices that we studied appeared to offer protection against HIV infection.