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Prevalence of Alcohol Use, Sexual Risk Behavior, and HIV Among Russians in High-Risk Settings: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the (a) prevalence of and (b) association between alcohol, risky sex, and HIV among Russians at risk for primary or secondary HIV transmission.

Method

Electronic databases were searched to locate studies that sampled Russians, assessed alcohol use, and included either a behavioral measure of risk or a biological measure of HIV. Weighted mean (logit) effect sizes were calculated using random-effects assumptions. Moderator analyses were conducted using meta-regression.

Results

Studies (19) sampled 12,916 Russians (M age = 29; 36 % women). Participants were recruited from clinical (52 %; e.g., sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic, drug treatment), other high-risk community settings (32 %; e.g., sexual/drug networks), or both (16 %). Findings indicate that a substantial proportion of the participants used alcohol (77 %; 55 % heavy drinking). One half of participants reported using condoms (52 %), but only 29 % used condoms consistently. Most participants reported drinking before sex (64 %). Of the studies testing for HIV, 10 % of participants tested positive. Meta-regression analyses indicated that hazardous/harmful alcohol use was associated with increased risky behaviors (i.e., multiple partners, inconsistent condom use).

Conclusion

These findings support the need for and potential benefit of addressing alcohol use in HIV prevention programming in Russia.

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Notes

  1. Because the prevalence of alcohol use, sexual risk behaviors, and HIV/STIs may have changed over time, we examined publication date as a possible predictor of the observed prevalence estimates. Publication date was not a predictor of alcohol use, sexual risk behaviors, or HIV/STIs, ps ≥ .06.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, The Miriam Hospital, CORO West, Suite 309, 164 Summit Avenue, Providence, RI, 02906, USA

    Chiao-Wen Lan, Lori A. J. Scott-Sheldon & Michael P. Carey

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert School of Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Lori A. J. Scott-Sheldon & Michael P. Carey

  3. Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA

    Lori A. J. Scott-Sheldon, Kate B. Carey & Michael P. Carey

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

    Blair T. Johnson

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  1. Chiao-Wen Lan
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  3. Kate B. Carey
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Correspondence to Lori A. J. Scott-Sheldon.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Funding

Research reported in this paper was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01 AA021355 to Lori A. J. Scott-Sheldon, PhD. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Lan, CW., Scott-Sheldon, L.A.J., Carey, K.B. et al. Prevalence of Alcohol Use, Sexual Risk Behavior, and HIV Among Russians in High-Risk Settings: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Int.J. Behav. Med. 24, 180–190 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-016-9596-1

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