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Alcohol and HIV Risk Among Russian Women of Childbearing Age

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Abstract

Russia has one of the fastest rising rates of HIV among women in the world. This study sought to identify key factors in HIV transmission among women in Russia. Data were collected as part of a larger clinical trial to prevent alcohol-exposed pregnancies (AEP). Women at risk for an AEP were recruited at women’s clinics; 708 women, aged 18–44 (M = 29.04 years), completed HIV risk surveys. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the relationships between alcohol use and sex behavior constructs with HIV/STI risk. While the model indicated that multiple factors are involved in women’s HIV/STI risk, the independent alcohol use variable explains 20 % of the variance in women’s HIV/STI risk. The findings suggest that alcohol use directly and indirectly predicts HIV/STI risk among women, and its effect is mediated by alcohol use before sex.

Resumen

Rusia tiene una de las tasas de VIH de mayor y más rápido crecimiento entre las mujeres en el mundo. Este estudio trata de identificar los factores clave en la transmisión del VIH entre las mujeres en Rusia. Los datos fueron recolectados como parte de un ensayo clínico mayor, enfocado en prevenir embarazos expuestos al alcohol (AEP, por sus siglas en inglés). Las mujeres en riesgo de un AEP fueron reclutadas en clínicas de mujeres 708 mujeres, con edades entre 18–44 (M = 29.04 años), completaron encuestas relacionadas al riesgo de VIH. Se utilizó un Modelo de Ecuaciones Estructurales (SEM, por sus siglas en inglés) para evaluar las relaciones entre el uso de alcohol y los constructos de conducta sexual y el riesgo de VIH/ITS. Aunque el modelo indicó que son múltiples los factores que están involucrados en el riesgo de VIH/ITS en las mujeres, la variable independiente de uso de alcohol explica el 20% de la varianza en el riesgo de VIH/ITS en las mujeres. Los hallazgos sugieren que el uso de alcohol predice directa e indirectamente el riesgo de VIH/ITS entre las mujeres, mientras su efecto está mediado por el uso de alcohol antes del sexo.

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Acknowledgments

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and Fogarty International Center (Brain Disorders in the Developing World: Research Across the Lifespan) under Award Number R01AA016234; the U.S.–Russia Collaborative HIV/AIDS Research Initiative, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), NIAAA, Administrative Supplement Award Number 3R01AA016234-05S1USA; and NIAAA, Award Number R21AA022596; and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) Awards 12-06-91444 and 13-06-91444. The content of this publication is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH, NIAAA, FIC, or RFBR. The authors wish to thank Theresa Exner, PhD, of Columbia University, for her invaluable consultation on the study procedures and development of the study survey measure. The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions of Karen Beckman, MD, and Kathy Kyler, MS, of OUHSC, Galina Isurina, PhD, of St. Petersburg State University, Sangeeta Agrawal, MS, of Gallup Consulting, and Nicholas Knowlton, MS, of NSK Statistical Solutions, and to thank Mary Asal, Ekaterina Burina, Larissa Skitnevskaya, Elena Kosih, and other graduate students from St. Petersburg State University, Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University, and University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center who assisted with the study. Special thanks to all of the women who volunteered to participate in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 940 N.E. 13th Street, Nicholson Tower, Suite 4900, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104, USA

    Tatiana Balachova, Mark Chaffin, Som Bohora & Barbara Bonner

  2. Psychology Department, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia

    Alla Shaboltas, Andrey Nasledov, Julia Batluk, Larissa Tsvetkova & Elena Volkova

  3. School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Mark Chaffin

  4. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, USA

    Kendall Bryant

  5. Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

    Elena Volkova

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  1. Tatiana Balachova
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  4. Mark Chaffin
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  7. Barbara Bonner
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  8. Kendall Bryant
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Correspondence to Tatiana Balachova.

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Conflict of interest

Tatiana Balachova, Alla Shaboltas, Mark Chaffin, Julia Batluk, Som Bohora, Barbara Bonner, Larissa Tsvetkova, and Elena Volkova have had NIH grants funding. Sources of support: R01AA016234 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and Fogarty International Center (Brain Disorders in the Developing World: Research Across the Lifespan); the U.S. - Russia Collaborative HIV/AIDS Research Initiative, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR), Russia, Administrative Supplement 3R01AA016234-05S1 from NIAAA and a research grant 12-06-91444 from RFBR; and research grants R21AA022596 from NIAAA and 13-06-91444 from RFBR. The authors declare that they have no other conflicts of interest.

Research Involving Human Participants

The study was approved by the St. Petersburg State University and University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). All procedures performed in the study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the IRBs and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Balachova, T., Shaboltas, A., Nasledov, A. et al. Alcohol and HIV Risk Among Russian Women of Childbearing Age. AIDS Behav 21, 1857–1867 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1542-3

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