Sexual behavior of HIV-seropositive young men with congenital coagulopathies. Hemophilia Behavioral Intervention Projects (HBIEP) Study Group
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G Remafedi1, J T Parsons, J R Schultz
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.
Purpose:
To describe the self-reported sexual behaviors of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive youths with congenital coagulopathies in order to guide the development of interventions to prevent secondary transmission.
Subjects:
A total of 297 HIV-seropositive males, 12-24 years of age, were sampled from 11 hemophilia treatment centers and 28 affiliated subsites.
Methods:
Review of clinical records and self-administered survey of HIV-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. Subjects were classified and compared by self-reported sexual behavior over the lifetime and the prior 6 months into five mutually exclusive groups (G1-5).
Results:
A total of 42% of subjects were virgins who never had oral, vaginal, or rectal sex (G1); 10% were nonvirgins who had abstained (G2); 13% were virgins and nonvirgins who had intimate touch only (G3); 21% had intercourse and always used condoms (G4); and 13% had had unsafe intercourse (G5). Among the groups, G5 was the oldest, least likely to forego sex, most angry and anxious when reminded of HIV, and most reluctant to disclose serostatus to friends.
Conclusions:
Most subjects (87%) had safer sex or abstained in the last 6 months. A relatively small group of HIV-seropositive youth with bleeding disorders were engaged in unprotected intercourse and in need of intensive help with HIV risk reduction.