Gay saunas and the risks of HIV and syphilis transmissions in China--results of a meta-analysis
Lau JT, Zhao JK, Wu XB, Gu J, Hao C
The journal of sexual medicine · 16 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Meta-analysis (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Clinical events such as disease or death
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
Based on full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2013-03-01 · J Sex Med · vol. 10 · issue 3 · pp. 642–652
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Cited
- 24 citations · more than 45% of similar papers · 0.4× the field average
- References
- 40 works
- Access
- Free to read
- Research areas
- HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Sex work and related issues
- Keywords
- Syphilis, China, Meta-analysis, Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Medicine, Virology, Political science, Law, Internal medicine
- MeSH
- humans, syphilis, hiv infections, steam bath, prevalence, odds ratio, risk-taking, homosexuality, male, public facilities, internet, china, male, surveys and questionnaires
5 authors
From CN, HK, CH
- JosephT. F. Lau · correspondingSun Yat-sen University; Chinese University of Hong Kong; China Primary Health Care Foundation
- Jinkou ZhaoGlobal Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; SGS (Switzerland); Medicines for Malaria Venture
- Xiaobing WuChinese University of Hong Kong; China Primary Health Care Foundation
- Jing GuSun Yat-sen University
- Chun Yan HaoSun Yat-sen University
Abstract
Introduction
Previous studies suggest the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission among men who have sex with men (MSM) is associated with characteristics of venues. However, very few studies have systematically compared HIV/sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevalence among MSM according to key venue type for sourcing sex partners.
Aims
The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between HIV/syphilis prevalence and the types of venues, namely saunas, parks, gay bars, and the Internet, which are mostly used for sourcing male sex partners by MSM in China.
Methods
Meta-analyses using fixed-effect and random-effect methods were conducted. Secondary data were obtained from 10 concurrent surveys conducted in 10 cities basing on a common protocol. Pairwise comparisons (e.g., "saunas" vs. "parks") were made.
Main outcomes measures
Odds ratios (OR) for HIV/syphilis infection in relations to venue type for partner sourcing.
Results
The distribution of the most commonly used source to recruit male sex partner was 59.32% (Internet), 18.47% (gay bars), 14.18% (gay saunas), and 8.02% (parks). The median prevalence of HIV/syphilis was 10.49% and 19.38% (gay saunas), 2.12% and 16.25% (parks), 6.06% and 15.45% (Internet), and 4.41% and 11.90% (gay bars). We found significant between-group differences when comparing "sauna" against "Internet" (HIV: OR= 2.27, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.65-3.12; syphilis: OR = 1.61, 95% CI= 1.07-2.41), "sauna" against "bars" (HIV: OR= 1.65, 95% CI= 1.14-2.39; syphilis: OR= 1.35, 95% CI= 1.02-1.78), and "parks" against "Internet" (syphilis: OR= 1.55, 95% CI= 1.12-2.15) as the main source to recruit male sex partners. Other pairwise comparisons were not statistically significant.
Conclusions
The results of this study suggest that those sourcing partners mainly from gay saunas have higher prevalence of HIV/syphilis when compared with those doing so via the Internet or gay bars. Venue based (sauna-based) interventions using socio-ecological approaches are greatly warranted in order to reduce HIV and syphilis prevalence among MSM in China.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher.
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