Authors
Doherty, Irene A.  Schoenbach, Victor J.  Adimora, Adaora A.

Institution
Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, Gillings School of
Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC
27599-7030, USA. doherty@med.unc.edu
Title
Sexual mixing patterns and heterosexual HIV transmission among African
Americans in the southeastern United States.
Source
Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes: JAIDS.  52(1):114-20,
2009 Sep 1.

Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Heterosexually transmitted HIV infection rates are
disproportionately high among African Americans. HIV transmission is
influenced by sexual network characteristics, including sexual partnership
mixing patterns among subpopulations with different prevalences of
infection. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of
previously collected data from a North Carolina population-based
case-control study. Respondents were heterosexual black men and women who
either had recently reported heterosexually transmitted HIV infection
(cases) or were randomly selected from the general population (controls).
METHODS: Respondents reported their own and their 3 most recent sex
partners' education and involvement in illicit drug use, concurrent sex
partners, and incarceration. We examined sexual mixing patterns by
comparing the characteristics and behaviors of respondents reported for
themselves with those they reported for their partners. We estimated
Newman assortativity coefficient (-1.0 to 1.0) as an aggregate
quantitative assessment of mixing patterns. RESULTS: Across the 4 strata
(male and female cases, male and female controls), mixing was assortative
(0.31-0.45) with respect to illicit drug use and minimally assortative
with respect to having concurrent partners (0.14-0.22). Mixing patterns
for incarceration were assortative for men (0.18 and 0.41) but not women
(0.07 and 0.08). Mixing with respect to education was assortative
primarily for male controls (0.33). CONCLUSIONS: These sexual partnership
patterns, driven in part by the social and economic context of life for
African Americans, likely contribute to the heterosexually transmitted HIV
epidemic.
Publication Type
Journal Article.  Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural.