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Alcohol Use, Mental Health, and HIV-related Risk Behaviors among Adult Men in Karnataka

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Abstract

This study critically examined associations among past year alcohol use, self-rated mental health and HIV risk-related behaviors for men and their partners, i.e., two or more partners and/or perpetration of partner violence. Data are reported from a population sample of 1,137 men aged 16–49 in Karnataka. Overall, 9.5% of all men reported HIV risk-related behaviors, 38.1% consumed alcohol, and about half (54.5%) of all current drinkers met criteria for hazardous alcohol use. Hazardous alcohol use and poorer mental health remained significantly associated with HIV-risk related behaviors after controlling for socio-demographics and psychosocial risk factors. More severe alcohol misuse, specifically alcohol dependence, and co-morbid hazardous alcohol use and poorer mental health, was associated with over two- and five-fold increases, respectively, in men’s HIV risk-related behaviors. Implications of findings for HIV prevention and intervention programs for men and their partners and directions for future research are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to the Alcohol Research Group (Gender, Alcohol, and Culture: Secondary Analysis, R01AA015775, S. Wilsnack, PI; ARG sub-contract,T. Greenfield PI) and from the World Health Organization to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurological Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India. We thank NIMHANS staff for the data collection.

Conflict of interest statement

No conflicts of interest, financial or other, apply to any of the authors of this study.

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  1. Alcohol Research Group, Public Health Institute, 6475 Christie Avenue, Suite 400, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA

    Madhabika B. Nayak & Rachael A. Korcha

  2. The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurological Sciences, Bangalore, India

    Vivek Benegal

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  1. Madhabika B. Nayak
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  2. Rachael A. Korcha
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  3. Vivek Benegal
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Correspondence to Madhabika B. Nayak.

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Nayak, M.B., Korcha, R.A. & Benegal, V. Alcohol Use, Mental Health, and HIV-related Risk Behaviors among Adult Men in Karnataka. AIDS Behav 14 (Suppl 1), 61–73 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-010-9725-9

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