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Bisexual Behavior Among Male Injection Drug Users in New York City

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Abstract

Drug using men who have sex with men and women (MSMW) may be at high risk for HIV infection and transmitting HIV to sex partners. In 2012, injection drug users (IDUs) were sampled in New York City for the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance cross-sectional study using respondent-driven sampling. Logistic regression was used to calculate crude and adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95 % confidence intervals (95 %CI) to determine correlates of bisexual behavior in the past 12 months. Of 333 participants, 47(14.1 %) reported MSMW. Variables independently associated (p < 0.05) with MSMW included bisexual sexual identity (vs. “straight”) (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 92.6; 95 % CI 18.9, 454.5), Bronx residence [vs. Manhattan (aOR 8.4; 95 %CI 1.6,43.7)], past 12 month behaviors of having sex with ≥3 sex partners (aOR 18.1; 95 % CI 3.3,98.4), “sold” sex (aOR 8.5; 95 % CI 2.3, 31.5), “bought” sex (aOR 0.2; 95 % CI 0.1, 0.9), and injection methamphetamine use (aOR 20.5; 95 % CI 3.0, 139.7). MSM IDUs are an important subgroup to consider for HIV interventions, as they may not be reached through HIV prevention programming aimed at MSM.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by a cooperative agreement between the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Grant# 5U1BPS003246-02). The contents of this article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The authors acknowledge Gabriela Paz-Bailey, Dita Broz, and Michael “Trey” Spiller of CDC for their contributions to the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) study design; Sarah Braunstein, Demetre Daskalakis, and Jay Varma for reviewing previous drafts of this article; and the NYC NHBS field staff for all their efforts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. HIV Epidemiology Program, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 42-09 28th Street, CN: 22-109, Long Island City, NY, 11101, USA

    Kathleen H. Reilly & Alan Neaigus

  2. St. Ann’s Corner of Harm Reduction, Bronx, NY, USA

    Travis Wendel

  3. Center for HIV Educational Studies & Training, New York, NY, USA

    David M. Marshall IV

  4. College of Nursing, New York University, New York, NY, USA

    Holly Hagan

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  1. Kathleen H. Reilly
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  2. Alan Neaigus
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  3. Travis Wendel
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  4. David M. Marshall IV
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  5. Holly Hagan
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Correspondence to Kathleen H. Reilly.

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Reilly, K.H., Neaigus, A., Wendel, T. et al. Bisexual Behavior Among Male Injection Drug Users in New York City. AIDS Behav 20, 405–416 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-015-1257-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-015-1257-x

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