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Are Partner Race and Intimate Partner Violence Associated with Incident and Newly Diagnosed HIV Infection in African-American Men Who Have Sex with Men?

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Abstract

Black gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (BMSM) experience a disparate rate of HIV infections among MSM. Previous analyses have determined that STI coinfection and undiagnosed HIV infection partly explain the disparity. However, few studies have analyzed the impact of partner-level variables on HIV incidence among BMSM. Data were analyzed for BMSM who attended the Los Angeles LGBT Center from August 2011 to July 2015 (n = 1974) to identify risk factors for HIV infection. A multivariable logistic regression was used to analyze predictors for HIV prevalence among all individuals at first test (n = 1974; entire sample). A multivariable survival analysis was used to analyze predictors for HIV incidence (n = 936; repeat tester subset). Condomless receptive anal intercourse at last sex, number of sexual partners in the last 30 days, and intimate partner violence (IPV) were significant partner-level predictors of HIV prevalence and incidence. Individuals who reported IPV had 2.39 times higher odds (CI 1.35–4.23) and 3.33 times higher hazard (CI 1.47–7.55) of seroconverting in the prevalence and incidence models, respectively. Reporting Black partners only was associated with increased HIV prevalence, but a statistically significant association was not found with incidence. IPV is an important correlate of both HIV prevalence and incidence in BMSM. Further studies should explore how IPV affects HIV risk trajectories among BMSM. Given that individuals with IPV history may struggle to negotiate safer sex, IPV also warrants consideration as a qualifying criterion among BMSM for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Los Angeles LGBT Center, McDonald/Wright Building, 1625 N Schrader Blvd, Room 205, Los Angeles, CA, 90028-6213, USA

    Matthew R. Beymer, Chelsea L. Shover, Brian R. Toynes & Robert K. Bolan

  2. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Matthew R. Beymer

  3. Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Nina T. Harawa

  4. College of Medicine, Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Nina T. Harawa

  5. Department of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Robert E. Weiss

  6. Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Steven Meanley

Authors
  1. Matthew R. Beymer
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  2. Nina T. Harawa
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  3. Robert E. Weiss
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  4. Chelsea L. Shover
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  5. Brian R. Toynes
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  6. Steven Meanley
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  7. Robert K. Bolan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthew R. Beymer.

Ethics declarations

The study received approval from the University of California, Los Angeles South General Institutional Review Board (SGIRB) (IRB Number: 00004474; Project Number: 16-000654).

Sources of Support

-MRB was supported by the UCLA Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Program in Global HIV Prevention Research (Currier and Gorbach, PIs); T32MH080634.

- NTH was supported by NIH grants 1R01DA039934-02, UL1TR000124, and P30 MH 58107. NTH was also supported by the California HIV Research Panel grant RP11-LA-020.

- REW was supported by the Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment (CHIPTS) NIMH grant P30MH058107 and the UCLA Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) grant 5P30AI028697, Core H.

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Beymer, M.R., Harawa, N.T., Weiss, R.E. et al. Are Partner Race and Intimate Partner Violence Associated with Incident and Newly Diagnosed HIV Infection in African-American Men Who Have Sex with Men?. J Urban Health 94, 666–675 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-017-0169-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-017-0169-7

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