Five hundred seventy-seven guys (351 HIV-negative, 153 HIV positive, and 73 HIV-oblivious) reported UAI in 26% of 878 online, and 23% of 903 offline casual partnerships. The crude OR of online dating for UAI was 1.36 (95 % CI 1.03-1.81). Backpage Escorts near me Two Creeks. HIV-positive men were more likely to report UAI than HIV-negative men (49% vs. 28% of ventures). Corrected for demographic features, online dating had no significant effect on UAI among HIV-negative and HIV status-unaware men, but HIV-positive men were more likely to have UAI with online partners (aOR = 1.65 95 % CI 1.05-2.57). After correction for partner and partnership features the effect of online/offline dating on UAI among HIV positive MSM was reduced and no longer significant.
Men who have sex with men (MSM) often utilize the Net to discover sex partners. Several research have shown that MSM are more inclined to participate in unprotected anal intercourse with sex partners they meet through the Internet (on-line) than with partners they meet at social sites (offline) 1 - 3 This suggests that guys who acquire partners online may be at a higher risk for sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV 4 - 6 Although higher rates of UAI are reported with on-line partners, the risk of HIV transmission also depends upon precise knowledge of one's own and the sex partners' HIV status 7 - 10
A meta-analysis in 2006 found limited evidence that getting a sex partner online increases the risk of unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) 3 Many previous studies compared men with internet partners to men with offline partners. Yet, guys preferring online dating might differ in various unmeasured regards from men favoring offline dating, leading to incomparable behavioural profiles. A more recent meta-analysis contained several studies analyzing MSM with both online and also offline acquired sex partners and found evidence for an association between UAI and on-line partners, which might indicate a mediating effect of more info on partners, (including perceived HIV status) on UAI 13
With increased acquaintance in sexual partnerships, for example by concordant ethnicity, age, lifestyle, HIV status, and increasing sex frequency, the chances for UAI increase as well 14 - 16 We compared the incidence of UAI in online got casual partnerships to that in offline obtained casual partnerships among MSM who reported both on-line and offline casual partners in the preceding six months. We hypothesised that MSM who date sex partners both online and offline, report more UAI with the casual partners they date online, and that this effect is partly explained through better understanding of partner features, including HIV status.
We used data from a cross sectional study focusing on spread of STI via sexual networks 15 Between July 2008 and August 2009 MSM were recruited from the STI outpatient clinic of the Public Health Service of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Men were eligible for participation if they reported sexual contact with men during the six months preceding the STI consultation, they were at least 18years old, and may comprehend written Dutch or English. People could participate more than once, if subsequent visits to the clinic were related to a potential new STI episode. Participants were regularly screened for STI/HIV according to the standard procedures of the STI outpatient clinic 15 , 17 The study was accepted by the medical ethics committee of the Academic Medical Center of Amsterdam (MEC 07/181), and written informed consent was obtained from each participant. Included in this investigation were men who reported sexual contact with at least one casual partner dated online as well one casual partner dated offline.
Participants completed a standardised anonymous survey throughout their visit to the STI outpatient clinic while waiting for preliminary evaluation results after their consultation with a nurse or doctor. The survey elicited information on socio-demographics and HIV status of the participant, the three most recent partners in the preceding six months, and information on sexual behavior with those partners. A thorough description of the study design as well as the survey is provided elsewhere 15 , 18 Our chief determinant of interest, dating location (e.g., the name of a pub, park, club, or the name of a site) was obtained for every partner, and categorised into on-line (websites), and offline (physical sites) dating places. To simplify the terminology of differentiating the partners per dating location, we refer to them as on-line or offline partners.
HIV status of the participant was got by asking the question 'Do you understand whether you're HIV infected?', with five answer alternatives: (1) I am definitely not HIV-infected; (2) I believe that I'm not HIV-contaminated; (3) I don't know; (4) I think I may be HIV-contaminated; (5) I know for sure that I 'm HIV-infected. We categorised this into HIV-negative (1,2), unknown (3), and HIV-positive (4,5) status. The questionnaire enquired about the HIV status of every sex partner with all the question: 'Do you understand whether this partner is HIV-contaminated?' with similar response options as above. Perceived concordance in HIV status within partnerships was categorised as; (1) concordant; (2) discordant; (3) unknown. The last group represents all partnerships where the participant didn't know his own status, or the status of his partner, or both. In this study the HIV status of the participant is self-reported and self-perceived. The HIV status of the sexual partner is as perceived by the participant.
As a way to investigate possible disclosure of HIV status we additionally asked the participant whether the casual sex partner understood the HIV status of the participant, together with the reply choices: (1) no, (2) potentially, (3) yes. Backpage escorts closest to Two Creeks Alberta. Sexual conduct with each partner was dichotomised as: (1) no anal intercourse or simply shielded anal intercourse, and (2) unprotected anal intercourse. To discover the subculture, we asked whether the participant characterised himself or his partners as belonging to one or more of the following subcultures/lifestyles: casual, formal, substitute, drag, leather, military, sports, fashionable, punk/skinhead, rubber/lycra, gothic, bear, jeans, skater, or, if none of these characteristics were related, other. Concordant lifestyle was categorised as: (1) concordant; (2) discordant. Casual partner kind was categorised by the participants into (1) known traceable and (2) anonymous partners.
We compared characteristics of participants by self-reported HIV status (using 2-evaluations for dichotomous and categorical variables and using rank sum test for continuous variables). We compared characteristics of participants, partners, and partnership sexual behaviour by online or offline venture, and calculated P values based on logistic regression with robust standard errors, accounting for linked data. Continuous variables (i.e., age, number of sex partners) are reported as medians with an interquartile range (IQR), and were categorised for inclusion in multivariate models. Random effects logistic regression models were used to examine the association between dating location (online versus offline) and UAI. Likelihood ratio tests were used to evaluate the significance of a variable in a model.
Before the investigations we developed a directed acyclic graph (DAG) representing a causal model of UAI. In this model some variants were putative causes (self-reported HIV status; on-line partner acquisition), others were considered as confounders (participants' age, participants' ethnicity, and no. Backpage Escorts nearby Two Creeks Canada. Backpage Escorts Near Me Two Guns Alberta. Backpage Escorts Near Me Twining Alberta. of male sex partners in preceding 6months), and some were assumed to be on the causal pathway between the main exposure of interest and results (age difference between participant and partner; ethnic concordance; concordance in life styles; HIV concordance; partnership type; sex frequency within venture; group sex with partner; sex-related material use in venture).