Early Sexual Debut and HIV Infection among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Shenzhen, China.

Ruiwei Xu,Tiejian Feng,Lina Lan,Lin Yang,Feng Wang,Hongzhuan Tan,Atipatsa C Kaminga,Yumao Cai,Wenjie Dai,Guanglu Zhao,Dan Tu,Aizhong Liu

doi:10.1155/2016/2987472

Abstract

Studies investigating the association between early sexual debut and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have mainly focused on Africans or females but rarely on men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. This study, therefore, mainly aimed at exploring the association between early sexual debut and HIV infection among MSM in Shenzhen, China. A total of 533 MSM were enrolled in this study using a convenience sampling method. Information about sociodemographic characteristics and risky sexual behaviors was collected. It was found that the prevalence of HIV infection was 24.2% among this study population and 66.4% of the MSM reported having had vaginal sexual intercourse with females. The mean ages at first vaginal sexual intercourse, first anal sexual intercourse, and first sexual intercourse were 21.38, 22.43, and 19.87 years, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that the MSM who experienced early anal sexual debut were more likely to be infected with HIV than those who did not. The results indicate that HIV infection is quite prevalent among MSM in Shenzhen. Early and efficient intervention strategies should be taken, and the MSM experiencing early anal sexual debut should be given special attention.

Highlights

In China, the number of individuals reported with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has alarmingly increased in recent years, especially among men who have sex with men (MSM) [1]
Role in the anal sexual intercourse was significantly associated with HIV infection (P < 0.05), and MSM with syphilis infection were more likely to be infected with HIV than those without syphilis infection (44.0% versus 15.8%, P < 0.05). Those who always used condom in anal sexual intercourse in the past 6 months were less prone to be infected with HIV, compared with those who did not always use condom in anal sexual intercourse in the past 6 months (18.2% versus 27.7%, P < 0.05)
Motivated by the fact that some MSM have vaginal sexual intercourse with women, to the best of our knowledge, this may be the first study in China to classify early sexual debut into early anal sexual debut and early vaginal sexual debut when exploring the association between early sexual debut and HIV infection among the Chinese MSM in China

Summary

Introduction

In China, the number of individuals reported with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has alarmingly increased in recent years, especially among men who have sex with men (MSM) [1]. Age at first anal sexual intercourse among MSM decreased greatly in the past few decades in China. Among the MSM born in 1990–1996, the median age at first anal sexual intercourse was 18 years, which was less than. 33 years, the median age at first anal sexual intercourse among the MSM born in 1940–1959 [4]. Corresponding to the decrease in the age at first anal sexual intercourse was an increase in the number of MSM who experienced early sexual debut, defined as having first sexual intercourse (anal or vaginal) at or before the age of 14 [5]. Individuals with early sexual debut may be more susceptible to HIV infection than those without early sexual debut [5]

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Conclusion