A survey of HIV infection and related high-risk factors among men who have sex with men in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China

A cross-sectional study using the snowball sampling method was conducted in May 2008 to investigate hu-man immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection status and related high risk factors among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Suzhou city of Jiangsu province. The researchers carried out a face-to-face questionnaire interview among MSM, and collected their blood samples to test for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Among the 280 respondents, 91.1% had homosexual acts in the past 6 months and 87.5% had multiple homosex-ual partners; 46.4% had heterosexual sex in the past 6 months and 33.1% had multiple heterosexual partners. The rate of continued condom use was 44.3% in homosexual sex in the past 6 months, while the rate in heterosexual sex was 33.9%. Laboratory test results showed that the prevalences of HIV and syphilis were 7.1% (20/280) and 15.0% (42/280), respectively, but no HCV-positive person was found. In the multivariate logistic regression model, subjects with a monthly income of more than RMB ¥ 1,000 (OR=4.83,95% CI=1.44-16.22), subjects who often went to bars for sexual partners (OR=2.25, 95%CI=1.21-4.20), and subjects who had more than one sexual partner in the past 6 months (OR=0.49, 95% CI=0.25-0.97) and had sex with fixed sexual partners in the past 6 months (OR=0.42, 95%CI=0.25-0.75) were significantly associated with the rate of continued condom use in homosexual sex in the past 6 months. Unprotected sex and multiple sexual partners were more common among MSM in Su-zhou city; furthermore, the prevalences of HIV infection and syphilis were relatively high. HIV preventive measures should be designed to address these risk factors and control the spread of HIV among MSM.