Can self-reported behavioral factors predict incident sexually transmitted diseases in high-risk african-american men?

• Published in: Journal of the National Medical Association Vol. 92; no. 7; pp. 354 - 360
• Main Authors: SLAVINSKY, J. III, ROSENBERG, D. M, DICARLO, R. P, KISSINGER, P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thorofare, NJ Slack 01.07.2000; Elsevier Limited; National Medical Association
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; African Americans; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Female; Human viral diseases; Humans; Incidence; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Patient Education as Topic; Prevalence; Proportional Hazards Models; Risk Factors; Self Disclosure; Sexual Behavior; Sexually Transmitted Diseases - ethnology; Sexually Transmitted Diseases - etiology; Sexually Transmitted Diseases - transmission; Socioeconomic Factors; Substance-Related Disorders - complications; Substance-Related Disorders - ethnology; United States - epidemiology; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids; United States; Human; Immunopathology; High risk; Seropositivity; Statistical analysis; Sexual behavior; Retroviridae; Male; AIDS; Immune deficiency; Lentivirus; Infection; Virus; Sexually transmitted disease; Viral disease; Black American; Human immunodeficiency virus
• ISSN: 0027-9684; 1943-4693

The known link between sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), coupled with the increasing prevalence of HIV in African-American men, makes understanding STD transmission trends in this group important for directing future preventive measures. The goal of this study was to determine if self-reported behavioral factors are predictive of incident sexually transmitted diseases in a group of high risk, HIV-negative African-American men. Five hundred and sixty-two "high risk" (defined as having four or more partners in the last year or having been diagnosed with an STD in the last year) HIV-negative African-American men were administered a baseline behavioral survey and followed to detect an incident STD. Overall, 19% (n = 108) of the patients acquired an incident STD during the study period. In multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis, the only factor associated with an incident STD was age < or = 19 (hazard ratio, 2.16; 95% confidence interval, 1.03 to 4.54). No other risk factors were statistically significant. In conclusion, self-reported behavioral factors, such as substance use and sexual practices, do not seem to be a good measure of STD risk among a group of high risk, HIV-negative, African-American men.