AEGiS-08IAC: Variation in sexual HIV risk behaviour among male and female injecting drug users at the Remand Prison in Stockholm.

8th International AIDS Conference

Amsterdam, Netherlands — July 19-24, 1992

Variation in sexual HIV risk behaviour among male and female injecting drug users at the Remand Prison in Stockholm.

Int Conf AIDS 1992 Jul 19-24; 8:We59 (abstract no. WeD 1074)
Kall K, Olin R; Department of Social Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate sexual HIV risk behaviour among injecting drug users (IDUs).

METHODS: 184 detained IDUs at the Remand Prison in Stockholm were invited to participate in a voluntary structured interview on sexual behaviour on and off drugs. Participants were selected from an ongoing HIV epidemiological study. Only detained users with a history of at least 6 months of regular intravenous drug use were selected.

RESULTS: Of the 184 IDUs 169 agreed to participate, 50 women and 119 men, 19 HIV seropositive and 150 seronegative, 99 amphetamine users (AUs) and 70 heroin users (HUs). The median age was 33 for the men and 32 for the women, 34 for the AUs and 29 for the HUs. The mean duration of drug injection was 8 years for both men and women. All women and all but 4 men (2 HUs and 2 AUs) had had sexual intercourse during the previous 3 years and all but 12% of the women and 17% of the men had had so during the 3 months prior to the interview. Of the HUs 24% had not had intercourse during the last 3 months compared to 9% of the AUs (p = 0.01). 76% of the women and 58% of the men had a regular sex partner at the time of arrest (p = 0.04). There was no significant difference in this respect between AUs and HUs (64 vs 63%). Of the women 71% had injected prior to the last intercourse compared to 61% of the men (NS). 64% of both HUs and AUs had injected before last intercourse. The median number of (private) sex partners the last 3 years was 5 (range 0-60) for the AUs and 2 (range 0-14) for the HUs. No gender difference. 40% of the women had had non-injecting (private) sex partners compared to 69% of the men (p = 0.009). AUs and HUs did not differ significantly in this respect. The median number of intercourses last month on drugs with a regular partner was 20 (range 0-120) for AUs as compared to 4 (range 0-70) for HUs. Both amphetamine and heroin were reported to prolong intercourses by delaying ejaculation. The median length of the last remembered intercourse on amphetamine was 60 minutes vs 35 minutes on heroin. Of the HIV seronegative IDUs 87% had not used condom with their last casual partner and 63% had not used condoms at all during the last 3 years. Of the HIV seropositives 8 out of 19 admitted to have had unprotected intercourse with an HIV seronegative partner at least once after knowing their HIV serostatus.

CONCLUSIONS: The majority of studied IDUs were sexually active but the AUs tended to have more partners and higher frequency of intercourse. Considering the infrequent use of condoms the risk for sexual transmission of HIV must be considered in this group, which must consequently be a target for safe sex education.

Keywords: AEGIS, Sexual Partners, Prisons, Condoms, HIV Seropositivity, Heroin Dependence, Coitus, Safe Sex, Epidemiologic Studies, Male, Female, Human, ICA8
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WeD1074