Factors Associated with Sexual Risk of HIV Transmission Among HIV-Positive Latino Men Who have Sex with Men on the U.S.-México Border

Abstract

We present results from a cross-sectional, clinic-based survey of border-region Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) and who also are living with HIV in the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez area. Among the 66 participants who reported serodiscordant anal or vaginal intercourse, we examined levels of psychological distress and substance use and the association of these variables with condomless sex. Bivariate analyses indicated that MSM who reported condomless sex with a serodiscordant partner were more likely to report higher scores on measures of anxiety, depression, and trauma. These men were also more likely to report more days of alcohol use to the point of intoxication. In multivariate logistic regression, no variables were independently associated with sexual risk behavior, but symptoms of anxiety trended toward statistical significance. Our study is one of few reports aimed at understanding the HIV epidemic among Latino MSM living with HIV in the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez border region. Although we found no evidence of a relation between our measures of psychological distress and substance use and sexual risk behavior in multivariate analyses, psychological distress and problematic alcohol use were common in the sample and are important targets for intervention in their own right.

HIV- and AIDS-related knowledge and attitude of residents in border regions of Vietnam

“…In a study in Iran, residents living in the border area reported that their knowledge mainly came from their individual experiences instead of health promotion programs [19]. Collectively, they pose a preferable condition for the escalation of HIV/AIDS epidemic, raising urgent needs of interventions to promote HIV-related KAP in order to prevent and reduce risk behaviors among residents in border zones [20, 21].…”

High HIV/STI Test Acceptance Through a Behavioral Health Encounter in Latino Immigrants with Substance Use and Mental Health Problems

“…Economic disruption, psychological stress, population mobility and displacement, trauma and physical violence, and military activity associated with migration are risk factors for HIV transmission [15,16]. Untreated substance use and mental health problems can affect the perceived risk for HIV acquisition and promote high-risk behaviors such as sexual concurrency, unprotected anal intercourse, and injection drug use (IDU) [17][18][19].…”

Condomless Sex and Psychiatric Comorbidity in the Context of Constrained Survival Choices: A Longitudinal Study Among Homeless and Unstably Housed Women

“…While much research has focused on depression as a predictor of HIV risk and treatment outcomes (23,25,42), less research has focused on anxiety or trauma-related disorders as distinct from depression in the context of condomless sex (43,44). The few extant studies that have done so did not include women and did not highlight unstable housing (43,(45)(46)(47). Our findings show only slightly attenuated independent associations with panic attack or PTSD in the presence of sex exchange.…”