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Letter
Group sex event participation: a link to STI risk among African-American heterosexual men incarcerated in North Carolina
  1. Joy D Scheidell1,
  2. Samuel R Friedman2,
  3. Carol Golin3,
  4. David A Wohl4,
  5. Maria R Khan1
  1. 1Department of Population Health, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
  2. 2National Development and Research Institutes, Inc., New York, New York, USA
  3. 3University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
  4. 4Division of Infectious Disease, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
  1. Correspondence to Joy D Scheidell, Department of Population Health, NYU School of Medicine, 227 E 30th Street, 628Q, New York, NY 10016, USA; joy.scheidell{at}nyumc.org

https://doi.org/10.1136/sextrans-2016-052980

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    Group sex events (GSEs) among heterosexuals and other groups may facilitate STI transmission by contributing to rapid partner exchange and links to high-risk partners.1 ,2 Using baseline (in-prison) data from DISRUPT (Disruption of Intimate Stable Relationships Unique to the Prison Term) (n=142), a cohort study conducted among African-American men incarcerated in North Carolina, USA, who were in committed heterosexual relationships at prison entry, we measured preincarceration GSE participation and other sexual risk behaviours. We tested urine samples for STI (chlamydia, gonorrhoea and trichomoniasis) using nucleic acid amplification tests. Approximately 16% reported GSE participation. GSE was strongly associated with STI (adjusted OR=6.59, 95% CI 1.78 to 24.42) but not with sexual risk behaviours (table 1). Since GSE participation was not associated with sexual risk behaviours, the association of GSE participation with infection suggests that GSEs may facilitate STI transmission through sex with infected partners. Programmes might intervene at GSE venues or through off-site approaches to GSE attendees. Preliminary results from this analysis were presented at the 2014 STD Prevention Conference.

    View this table:
    Table 1

    Associations between group sex event (GSE) participation and sexual risk behaviours and STI in the 6 months before incarceration among 142 African-American men incarcerated in North Carolina

    References

    1. ↵
      1. Friedman SR,
      2. Bolyard M,
      3. Khan M, et al
      . Group sex events and HIV/STI risk in an urban network. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2008;49:440–6. doi:10.1097/QAI.0b013e3181893f31
      OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
    2. ↵
      1. Friedman SR,
      2. Mateu-Gelabert P,
      3. Sandoval M
      . Group sex events amongst non-gay drug users: an understudied risk environment. Int J Drug Policy 2011;22:1–8. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2010.06.004
      OpenUrlPubMed

    Footnotes

    • Contributors JDS conducted the analyses, wrote the first draft of the letter and revised subsequent drafts; SF created the indicators of GSEs in the baseline survey and guided the analyses and interpretation of results; CG is a coinvestigator on project DISRUPT, advised in the conceptualisation of all aspects of the parent study and contributed to the current letter by assisting in interpreting results and writing the letter; DAW is the site principal investigator on Project DISRUPT, oversaw day-to-day operations of the study and contributed to the letter by assisting in interpreting the findings; MRK is the principal investigator of Project DISRUPT, conceptualised and conducted the parent study and guided the current letter analyses. All authors reviewed and revised the original draft of the letter and have approved this version.

    • Funding National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA028766).

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Ethics approval New York University School of Medicine Institutional Review Board (i14-01540).

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.