HIV-INFECTION IN HOMOSEXUAL AND BISEXUAL MEN 18 TO 29 YEARS OF AGE - THE SAN-FRANCISCO YOUNG MENS HEALTH STUDY

Objectives. Recent studies suggest very high human immunodeficiency vi rus (HIV) infection rates in some populations of younger homosexual me n, but these studies may represent only particularly high-risk populat ions. The current study obtained population-based data on the HIV epid emic in young homosexual/ bisexual men. Methods. A household survey of unmarried men 18 through 29 years of age involved a multistage probab ility sample of addresses in San Francisco. A follow-up interview and HIV test for men who were HIV negative at baseline were completed; the median follow-up was 8.9 months. Results. Sixty-eight of 380 homosexu al/bisexual men (17.9%) tested HIV seropositive. Sixty-three percent o f men reported one or more receptive anal intercourse partners in the previous 12 months, and 41% of those men did not use condoms consisten tly. The HIV seroincidence rate among those seronegative at first stud y was 2.6% per year. Conclusions. HIV infection rates in young homosex ual men in San Francisco are lower than those in the early 1980s; howe ver, the rate of infection in these men, most of whom became sexually active after awareness of AIDS had become widespread, threatens to con tinue the epidemic in the younger generation at a level not far below that of a decade ago.