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Is Sexual Serosorting Occurring Among HIV-Positive Injection Drug Users? Comparison Between Those with HIV-Positive Partners Only, HIV-Negative Partners Only, and Those with any Partners of Unknown Status

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Abstract

Using baseline data from a multi-site, randomized controlled study (INSPIRE), we categorized 999 HIV-positive IDUs into three groups based on serostatus of their sex partners. Our data provide some evidence for serosorting occurring in our sample; about 40% of the sample had sex exclusively with HIV-positive partners, and about half of them reported having unprotected sex with these partners. Twenty per cent had sex exclusively with HIV-negative partners; their sexual behaviors tended to be least risky with about two-thirds reporting their sex was protected. However, we also found that another 40% had at least one partner of unknown HIV status and sexual and drug risk was the highest among them. They were also least empowered, showing attributes that may undermine HIV prevention. Some of these findings are consistent with findings from MSM studies, suggesting that partner selection practices are similar between primarily heterosexual IDUs and MSM.

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Acknowledgments

The INSPIRE Team includes the following people: Carl Latkin, Amy Knowlton, and Karin Tobin (Baltimore); Lisa Metsch, Eduardo Valverde, James Wilkinson, and Martina DeVarona (Miami); Mary Latka, Dave Vlahov, Phillip Coffin, Marc Gourevitch, Julia Arnsten, and Robert Gern (New York); Cynthia Gomez, Kelly Knight, Carol Dawson Rose, Starley Shade, and Sonja Mackenzie (San Francisco); David Purcell, Yuko Mizuno, Scott Santibanez, Richard Garfein, and Ann O’Leary [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)]; Lois Eldred, Kathleen Handley (Health Resources and Services Administration). We would also like to acknowledge the following people for their contributions to this research: Susan Sherman, Roeina Marvin, Joanne Jenkins, Donny Gann, and Tonya Johnson (Baltimore); Clyde McCoy, Rob Malow, Wei Zhao, Lauren Gooden, Sam Comerford, Virginia Locascio, Curtis Delford, Laurel Hall, Henry Boza, Cheryl Riles (Miami); George Fesser, Carol Gerran, Diane Thornton (New York); Caryn Pelegrino, Barbara Garcia, Jeff Moore, Erin Rowley, Debra Allen, Dinah Iglesia-Usog, Gilda Mendez, Paula Lum, and Greg Austin (San Francisco); Gladys Ibanez, Hae-Young Kim, Toni McWhorter, Jan Moore, Lynn Paxton, and John Williamson (CDC); Lee Lam, Jeanne Urban, Stephen Soroka, Zilma Rey, Astrid Ortiz, Sheila Bashirian, Marjorie Hubbard, Karen Tao, Bharat Parekh, Thomas Spira (CDC Laboratory). This study was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration.

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The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Correspondence to Yuko Mizuno.

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M. H. Latka—Affiliation at the time of study: Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.

C. A. Gomez—Affiliation at the time of study: Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.

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Mizuno, Y., Purcell, D.W., Latka, M.H. et al. Is Sexual Serosorting Occurring Among HIV-Positive Injection Drug Users? Comparison Between Those with HIV-Positive Partners Only, HIV-Negative Partners Only, and Those with any Partners of Unknown Status. AIDS Behav 14, 92–102 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-009-9548-8

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