OBJECTIVE: To understand the demographic and HIV risk behaviors, HIV and syphilis infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Langfang, Hebei. METHODS: 106 completed questionnaires were collected from 118 participants, who were recruited from MSM pubs and internet from October to November, 2007. Data on homosexual and heterosexual relationships as well as sexual behaviors were collected by face-to-face interview. Blood specimen were collected to determine HIV/syphilis serostatus. RESULTS: Age, marital status and occupation were statistically different (P < 0.05) among MSM subgroups enrolled through different recruitment methods. Almost 90.0% of the MSMs identified their sexual orientation, 82.1% MSMs had sexual contacts with men, 50.4% MSMs maintained sexual relationship with women. The exposures of sexual contacts were anal intercourse (87.7%), blow job (58.5%), rimming (32.1%), fist sucking (15.1%), group sex (8.5%) etc. As for the awareness of risk for HIV infection, only 31.1% of the participants were beware of their risk of HIV infection they had been facing while 23.6% of them had ever received HIV testings. The prevalence rates of HIV and syphilis antibody positive among the 84 MSMs in this program were 4.8% and 22.6% respectively. CONCLUSION: MSMs were lack of HIV/STI awareness on their risks and having a high prevalence of HIV and syphilis. Specific HIV/STI intervention should be carried out in this population urgently.
OBJECTIVE: To understand the demographic and HIV risk behaviors, HIV and syphilis infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Langfang, Hebei. METHODS: 106 completed questionnaires were collected from 118 participants, who were recruited from MSM pubs and internet from October to November, 2007. Data on homosexual and heterosexual relationships as well as sexual behaviors were collected by face-to-face interview. Blood specimen were collected to determine HIV/syphilis serostatus. RESULTS: Age, marital status and occupation were statistically different (P < 0.05) among MSM subgroups enrolled through different recruitment methods. Almost 90.0% of the MSMs identified their sexual orientation, 82.1% MSMs had sexual contacts with men, 50.4% MSMs maintained sexual relationship with women. The exposures of sexual contacts were anal intercourse (87.7%), blow job (58.5%), rimming (32.1%), fist sucking (15.1%), group sex (8.5%) etc. As for the awareness of risk for HIV infection, only 31.1% of the participants were beware of their risk of HIV infection they had been facing while 23.6% of them had ever received HIV testings. The prevalence rates of HIV and syphilis antibody positive among the 84 MSMs in this program were 4.8% and 22.6% respectively. CONCLUSION: MSMs were lack of HIV/STI awareness on their risks and having a high prevalence of HIV and syphilis. Specific HIV/STI intervention should be carried out in this population urgently.