Characteristics of newly reported HIV/AIDS cases with heterosexual mode of transmission in six districts of Chongqing city

Abstract

Objective: To understand the routes of newly reported HIV/AIDS cases with heterosexual mode of transmission in six districts of Chongqing city, and to provide evidence for HIV/AIDS prevention and control programs regarding heterosexual mode of transmission on HIV. Methods: HIV/AIDS cases that were newly reported as with heterosexual mode of transmission in six districts of Chongqing from July 1st to October 1st in 2019, were recruited in the study. Information related to their sociodemographic characteristics and heterosexual behaviors was collected. A self-designed questionnaire was used in this face-to-face survey. Results: A total of 312 HIV/AIDS cases with heterosexual mode of transmission were recruited. Most of them were males (207, 66.3%), aged 50 years or over (210, 67.3%), having junior high school or lower education (252, 80.8%), married or cohabitating (200, 64.1%). 48.7% (152/312) of them were infected through commercial sexual contact while 40.4% (126/312) of them were infected by spouses or stabled partners. 10.9% (34/312) of them were infected by non-marital and non-commercial sexual contacts. Significant differences were noticed on the infection mode of heterosexual transmission in gender, age and occupation (P<0.05). Results from the multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that: male (OR=822.34, 95%CI: 103.99-6 503.10), junior high school and lower education level (OR=3.02, 95%CI: 1.05-8.66), household chores and underemployed (OR=0.23, 95%CI: 0.07-0.76) were influencing factors on HIV infection that were through commercial sexual contacts. Male (OR=29.20, 95%CI: 9.40-90.75), junior high school and lower education level (OR=4.28, 95%CI: 1.24-14.81) were influencing factors on HIV infection, through non-marital and non-commercial sexual contacts. In addition to meeting sexual partners in offline places, some HIV/AIDS patients with heterosexual mode of transmission had developed sexual partnerships through online dating and with low-grade venue as the main place for sex engagement. Conclusions: Newly reported HIV/AIDS cases under heterosexual mode of transmission in Chongqing were mainly infected from offline low-grade venues, and caused by commercial sexual engagement. The routes of HIV infections that caused by heterosexual contact should be deeply understood in order to develop targeted intervention programs.