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A comparison of HIV seropositive and seronegative young adult heroin- and cocaine-using men who have sex with men in New York City, 2000–2003

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Abstract

The purpose of this analysis was to determine the prevalence and correlates of HIV infection among a street-recruited sample of heroin-and cocaine-using men who have sex with men (MSM). Injection (injecting ≦3 years) and non-injection drug users (heroin, crack, and/or cocaine use<10 years) between 18 and 40 years of age were simultaneously street-recruited into two cohort studies in New York City, 2000–2003, by using identical recruitment techniques. Baseline data collected among young adult men who either identified as gay/bisexual or reported ever having sex with a man were used for this analysis. Nonparametric statistics guided interpretation. Of 95 heroin/ cocaine-using MSM, 25.3% tested HIV seropositive with 75% reporting a previous HIV diagnosis. The majority was black (46%) or Hispanic (44%), and the median age was 28 years (range 18–40). HIV-seropositive MSM were more likely than seronegatives to be older and to have an HIV-seropositive partner but less likely to report current homelessness, illegal income, heterosexual identity, multiple sex partners, female partners, and sex for money/drug partners than seronegatives. These data indicate high HIV prevalence among street-recruited, drug-using MSM compared with other injection drug use (IDU) subgroups and drug-using MSM; however, lower risk behaviors were found among HIV seropositives compared with seronegatives. Large-scale studies among illicit drug-using MSM from more marginalized neighborhoods are warranted.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Center for Infectious Disease Epidemiologic Research, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York

    Judith Absalon

  2. Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention, New York Blood Center, New York, New York

    Beryl Koblin

  3. Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 5th Avenue, 10029, New York, NY

    Crystal M. Fuller,  Danielle C. Ompad,  Denis Nash,  Shannon Blaney,  Sandro Galea &  David Vlahov

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  1. Crystal M. Fuller
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  2. Judith Absalon
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  4. Denis Nash
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  5. Beryl Koblin
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  8. David Vlahov
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Correspondence to Crystal M. Fuller.

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Fuller, C.M., Absalon, J., Ompad, D.C. et al. A comparison of HIV seropositive and seronegative young adult heroin- and cocaine-using men who have sex with men in New York City, 2000–2003. J Urban Health 82 (Suppl 1), i51–i61 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/jti024

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