The association of intimate partner violence, recreational drug use with HIV seroprevalence among MSM.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been significantly associated with HIV among heterosexual individuals. Yet a similar relationship has not been so clearly described among men who have sex with men (MSM). The aim of this study was to investigate the association of IPV with HIV seroprevalence among MSM. Participants consisted of 7,844 MSM clients who visited the Whitman Walker Clinic in Washington DC from 2000 through 2007, the majority of whom were Caucasian with a median age of 30. The univariate analysis showed that self-reported IPV was significantly associated with HIV (OR: 1.67, CI: 1.14-2.45) among the sampled MSM clients. However, when adjusting for sexually transmitted infection (STI) status and self-reported risk behaviors including recreational drug use, condom use, number of male sex partners, and having sex with a positive HIV partner, the association of IPV with HIV was not statistically significant. Results indicated that the strong independent association of recreational drug use with HIV seroprevalence decreased the association of IPV with HIV significantly (with recreational drug use, OR: 1.36, CI: 0.93-2.00 vs. without recreational drug use, OR: 1.51, CI: 1.03-2.22).