OBJECTIVES: Substance-using women need prevention technologies and programs to reduce risk of HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI). We examined STI prevalence and identified risk correlates for female drug users. METHODS: We used interviewer-administered and computer-assisted surveys, and tested specimens for four, treatable STIs (trichomonas, early syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia) on 198 HIV-seronegative, street-recruited, substance-using women enrolled in a randomized trial to reduce HIV/STI risk. RESULTS: Most women were crack users (88%), reported sex exchange (80%) and were not in drug user treatment (74%). Two-thirds were African-American and nearly all were unemployed. Protection during sex was infrequent. African-American women reported fewer unprotected sex acts and fewer sexual partners, but greater crack use and more sex-for exchange, than whites or Hispanics. Trichomonas prevalence (36.9%) exceeded that for chlamydia (3.5%), syphilis (1.5%), and gonorrhea (0%). In multivariate logistic regression, having a primary and casual partner more than doubled (AOR 2.86) the risk of having trichomonas and being African-American raised the risk by more than 8 times (AOR 8.45). CONCLUSIONS:African-American, drug-using women, and women with multiple partner types, are in urgent need of effective STI/HIV prevention interventions.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVES: Substance-using women need prevention technologies and programs to reduce risk of HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI). We examined STI prevalence and identified risk correlates for female drug users. METHODS: We used interviewer-administered and computer-assisted surveys, and tested specimens for four, treatable STIs (trichomonas, early syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia) on 198 HIV-seronegative, street-recruited, substance-using women enrolled in a randomized trial to reduce HIV/STI risk. RESULTS: Most women were crack users (88%), reported sex exchange (80%) and were not in drug user treatment (74%). Two-thirds were African-American and nearly all were unemployed. Protection during sex was infrequent. African-American women reported fewer unprotected sex acts and fewer sexual partners, but greater crack use and more sex-for exchange, than whites or Hispanics. Trichomonas prevalence (36.9%) exceeded that for chlamydia (3.5%), syphilis (1.5%), and gonorrhea (0%). In multivariate logistic regression, having a primary and casual partner more than doubled (AOR 2.86) the risk of having trichomonas and being African-American raised the risk by more than 8 times (AOR 8.45). CONCLUSIONS: African-American, drug-using women, and women with multiple partner types, are in urgent need of effective STI/HIV prevention interventions.
Authors: Erica L Gollub; Kathleen M Morrow; Kenneth H Mayer; Beryl A Koblin; Pamela Brown Peterside; Marla J Husnik; David S Metzger Journal: J Womens Health (Larchmt) Date: 2010-09 Impact factor: 2.681