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Risk Factors for Syphilis and Prevalence of HIV, Hepatitis B and C among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Beijing, China: Implications for HIV Prevention

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Abstract

To examine the correlates for syphilis and the prevalence for HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C among men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) in Beijing, China. A total of 541 MSM was recruited using peer-referral, community outreach, and Internet. Questionnaire-based interviews provided information including, demographics, sexual and other risk behaviors. HIV prevalence was 4.8%, syphilis 19.8%, HCV 0.4% and HBsAg 6.5%. The median number of lifetime male sex partners was ten. In the past 3 months, 20.7% drank alcohol ≥1 times per week. In the past month, 21.3 and 14.6% had unprotected anal intercourse with regular and casual male sex partners, respectively. Syphilis infection was associated with less education, alcohol use, finding male sex partners through bathhouses/public washrooms/parks, and diagnoses of sexual transmitted diseases (STDs). Syphilis is now epidemic among Beijing’s MSM. Prevention efforts are urgent as HIV prevalence is already near 5%. Education, condom promotion, STD control, and alcohol-related intervention are needed urgently.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported, in part, by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2004BA719A01), by the National Institute of Health (grants #R01AI078933, #R03AI067349 and #D43TW001035), and the Institute for Global Health and Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. We would like to thank Ms. Meredith Bortz from Vanderbilt University for manuscript assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epidemiology and Biostatistics Branch, Division of Virology and Immunology, State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, and National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention (NCAIDS), Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), 27 Nanwei Road, Xuanwu District, Beijing, 100050, People’s Republic of China

    Yuhua Ruan, Xinxu Li, Qingchun Li, Hongyuan Liang & Yiming Shao

  2. Chaoyang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Fengji Luo, Xiaoxi Zhang, Dongliang Li & Wei Shi

  3. Institute for Global Health, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA

    Yujiang Jia & Sten H. Vermund

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA

    Yujiang Jia & Sten H. Vermund

  5. Farmworker Justice, Washington, DC, 20036, USA

    Jennifer M. Freeman

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  1. Yuhua Ruan
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  2. Fengji Luo
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  3. Yujiang Jia
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  9. Wei Shi
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Correspondence to Yuhua Ruan or Yiming Shao.

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Ruan, Y., Luo, F., Jia, Y. et al. Risk Factors for Syphilis and Prevalence of HIV, Hepatitis B and C among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Beijing, China: Implications for HIV Prevention. AIDS Behav 13, 663–670 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-008-9503-0

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