BEHAVIORS OF HETEROSEXUAL SEXUALLY-TRANSMITTED DISEASE CLINIC PATIENTS WITH SEX PARTNERS AT INCREASED RISK FOR HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUSINFECTION

Background and Objectives: From March 1989 through December 1992, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted annual, voluntary surveys of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk behavior in sentin el sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics in 25 cities in the Unit ed States, Goal: Describe behaviors of heterosexual participants who r eported as their only risk for HIV infection sexual contact with perso ns at increased risk for HIV, Study Design: Participants responded to a standard questionnaire that collected demographic data and medical, drug use, and sexual histories, Results: Sex with an injection drug us er was the most common risk behavior. Fewer than 5% of participants al ways used condoms in the preceding year; 38% never used condoms, Multi -variate analyses identified three independent predictors of HIV infec tion in men: living in the Northeast (odds ratio [OR] = 3.6; P < 0.001 ), sex with an HN-infected woman (OR = 3.6; P < 0.01), and black race (OR = 2.7; P < 0.01). For women, sex with an HIV-infected man was the strongest predictor (OR = 12.0; P < 0.001) followed by Northeast resid ence (OR = 5.4; P < 0.001) and black race (OR = 3.4; P < 0.01), Conclu sion: Sexually transmitted disease clinic patients throughout the Unit ed States knowingly engaged in sexual activities with partners at incr eased risk for HIV infection. HIV prevention activities need to be tar geted to all sexually active persons, particularly in areas where inje ction drug use and HIV are prevalent.