Alcohol drinking and HIV-related risk among men who have sex with men in Chongqing, China.

To estimate the prevalence of any alcohol use and heavy alcohol drinking using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and its correlates among men who have sex with men (MSM), a cross-sectional study was conducted among 391 MSM in Chongqing, China to collect data about sociodemographic characteristics, alcohol use, sexual behaviors, and other related factors through a computer-assisted self-administered questionnaire. Heavy alcohol drinking in the past 12 months was defined as an AUDIT-C score ≥ 4. Blood was collected from each potential participant to test for HIV and syphilis status. Twenty three percent of MSM had consumed a drink containing alcohol in the previous year. 7.2% had an AUDIT-C score ≥ 4, defined as heavy alcohol drinkers. 23.5% were unmarried, but planning to marry, who were more likely to report any alcohol drinking (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.38; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.40-4.06) and to have AUDIT-C scores ≥ 4 (AOR, 3.58; 95% CI, 1.60-8.00). MSM who had used any alcohol in the previous year, and MSM who were heavy alcohol drinkers, were more likely to have had anal sex with male casual partners in the previous 6 months, to have been tested for HIV, and to have decreased scores on the scales of general self-efficacy, increased scores on the scales of stigma and discrimination. Our findings provided further evidence of the associations of any alcohol use and heavy alcohol consumption with HIV-risky behaviors, lowered sense of general self-efficacy, and higher sense of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination among MSM in the city with the highest HIV epidemic among MSM in China.