Sexual and drug-use risk factors for HIV and STDs: A comparison of women with and without bisexual experiences

Objectives. This study was done to compare risk factors for HIV/STDs in wom en who reported having had sex with both men and women and women who report ed having had sex with men only. Methods. Female participants in a multisite, randomized HIV/STD prevention study in the Seattle area reported both having had sex with a man in the 3 months before and having at least 1 risk factor for HIV/STDs during the yea r before the study. Of these women, 38% who reported ever having had sex wi th a woman were compared with those who reported having had sex with men on ly. Results. Women who had had sex with both men and women were more likely tha n women who had had sex with men only to report drug use in the 3 months be fore the study, a greater lifetime number of male partners, a sex partner w ho had had sex with a prostitute, an earlier age at sexual debut, and force d sexual contact (P<.01 for all comparisons). Women who had had sex with bo th men and women had a mean of 3.2 of these 5 risk factors, vs 2.1 among wo men who had had sex with men only (P<.001). Conclusion. Women who had had sex with both men and women were more likely than women who had had sex with men only to engage in multiple risk behavio rs. Health workers should be aware of bisexual experience among women, sinc e this may be a marker for multiple risk behaviors for HIV/STDs.