Sexual patterns and human immunodeficiency virus infection among homosexuals in Taiwan

Between 1988 and 1991, 64 homosexual men and 43 bisexual men were screened for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Southern Taiwan; 5 of them were found to carry HIV antibodies. According to a self-administered questionnaire completed before screening, the average age of the men in the study group was 27 years, and the average duration of practiced homosexuality was 3.8 years. Occupations included student, merchant, laborer, officer, and soldier, and many of the men (45/107) had some junior college or university level education. A relatively high proportion (48/107) of these subjects reported having only 1 sexual partner, and there was a significant association between HIV antibody status and number of sexual partners (P = 0.025). Of the 107 subjects, 58 had practiced anal intercourse and more than a third of them (37/107) indicated that they had participated in receptive anal intercourse, 42 in insertive anal intercourse, and 21 in both of the above. All five carriers of HIV had practiced receptive anal intercourse, in which transmission of HIV from inserter to receptor was highly likely (P = 0.004). Of the men who came forward for HIV testing, the bisexual men tended to be older and often married.