Open Collections

UBC Faculty Research and Publications

Risks for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among Asian men who have sex with men in Vancouver, British Columbia: a cross-sectional survey Maung Maung, Thiha; Chen, Becky; Moore, David M.; Chan, Keith; Kanters, Steve; Michelow, Warren; Hogg, Robert S.; Nakamura, Nadine; Robert, Wayne; Gustafson, Reka; Gilbert, M.

Abstract

Background: Individuals of Asian heritage represent the largest ethnic minority in Canada. Approximately 10% of the new HIV diagnoses in men in British Columbia occur among Asian-Canadians. However, the HIV risk patterns of Asian men who have sex with men (MSM) have not been extensively studied. Methods Participants aged ≥ 19 years were enrolled in a venue-based HIV serobehavioural survey of MSM in Vancouver, Canada. We compared the demographic characteristics, risk behaviours, and prevalence of HIV and other sexual and blood borne infections between Asian and non-Asian MSM using bivariate analysis and logistic regression confounder modelling. Results Amongst 1132 participants, 110 (9.7%) self-identified as Asian. Asian participants were younger than non-Asian participants (median age 29 vs. 32 years; p < 0.001), but otherwise did not differ from other study participants. HIV prevalence was lower among Asian MSM compared to Non-Asian MSM (3.7% vs 19.0%, p <0.001). Among men who self-reported as HIV negative or unknown we found no differences in unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) with a discordant or unknown serostatus partner in the previous six months (11 vs. 13%; p = 0.503). However, Asian MSM were less likely to report ever using injection drugs (10.8% vs. 19.2%; p = 0.043) or using alcohol before having sex (52% vs. 64.4%; p = 0.017). Conclusions Asian MSM in our study reported similar rates of UAI as non-Asian MSM, but had a lower prevalence of HIV infection. Other factors, such as the use of drugs and alcohol, in relation to sex, may partly explain these differences. However this requires further investigation.

Item Metadata

Title
Risks for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among Asian men who have sex with men in Vancouver, British Columbia: a cross-sectional survey
Creator
Maung Maung, Thiha; Chen, Becky; Moore, David M.; Chan, Keith; Kanters, Steve; Michelow, Warren; Hogg, Robert S.; Nakamura, Nadine; Robert, Wayne; Gustafson, Reka; Gilbert, M.
Publisher
BioMed Central
Date Issued
2013-08-16
Description
Background: Individuals of Asian heritage represent the largest ethnic minority in Canada. Approximately 10% of the new HIV diagnoses in men in British Columbia occur among Asian-Canadians. However, the HIV risk patterns of Asian men who have sex with men (MSM) have not been extensively studied. Methods Participants aged ≥ 19 years were enrolled in a venue-based HIV serobehavioural survey of MSM in Vancouver, Canada. We compared the demographic characteristics, risk behaviours, and prevalence of HIV and other sexual and blood borne infections between Asian and non-Asian MSM using bivariate analysis and logistic regression confounder modelling. Results Amongst 1132 participants, 110 (9.7%) self-identified as Asian. Asian participants were younger than non-Asian participants (median age 29 vs. 32 years; p < 0.001), but otherwise did not differ from other study participants. HIV prevalence was lower among Asian MSM compared to Non-Asian MSM (3.7% vs 19.0%, p <0.001). Among men who self-reported as HIV negative or unknown we found no differences in unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) with a discordant or unknown serostatus partner in the previous six months (11 vs. 13%; p = 0.503). However, Asian MSM were less likely to report ever using injection drugs (10.8% vs. 19.2%; p = 0.043) or using alcohol before having sex (52% vs. 64.4%; p = 0.017). Conclusions Asian MSM in our study reported similar rates of UAI as non-Asian MSM, but had a lower prevalence of HIV infection. Other factors, such as the use of drugs and alcohol, in relation to sex, may partly explain these differences. However this requires further investigation.
Subject
HIV; Homosexuality; Men who have sex with men; Asian
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2015-10-24
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
DOI
10.14288/1.0132627
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/55024
Affiliation
Medicine, Faculty of; Non UBC
Citation
BMC Public Health. 2013 Aug 16;13(1):763
Publisher DOI
10.1186/1471-2458-13-763
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Copyright Holder
Maung Maung et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

Item Media

Item Citations and Data

Rights

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)