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Alcohol Use and Sexual Risk Behavior Among Human Immunodeficiency Virus–Positive Persons
Author(s) -
Stein Michael,
Herman Debra S.,
Trisvan Elizabeth,
Pirraglia Paul,
Engler Patricia,
Anderson Bradley J.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1097/01.alc.0000164363.40533.e0
Subject(s) - medicine , unsafe sex , marital status , binge drinking , environmental health , demography , alcohol , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , poison control , injury prevention , condom , population , immunology , syphilis , biology , biochemistry , sociology
Background: This study was undertaken to determine if alcohol use is associated with sexual risk taking among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–infected persons. Methods: Cross‐sectional interviews of 262 HIV‐infected patients in the Brown University AIDS Program were performed. Factors associated with any sexual activity, unsafe sexual activity, and a 4‐fold typology of sexual risk were examined. Alcohol measures included drinking days, drinks per drinking day, binge drinking, and hazardous alcohol use. Results: The sample was 58% male and 40% white; 67% of patients were self‐identified as heterosexual, and 48% drank alcohol. Nearly two thirds of patients reported sexual activity in the past 6 months, with 38% reporting unprotected sex during that period. All measures of alcohol use were significantly associated with any sexual activity and with unsafe sexual behavior. As an example, controlling for age, HIV transmission risk, marital status, and HIV clinical indicators, hazardous drinkers were 5.64 times more likely to report unprotected sex and have multiple partners ( p < 0.01) than were those not drinking at hazardous levels. Conclusions: A high proportion of HIV‐infected persons were sexually active and having unsafe sex. Alcohol, at all levels of use, was associated with increased sexual risk taking.