A comparison of HIV seropositive and seronegative young adult heroin- and cocaine-using men who have sex with men in New York City, 2000-2003

Crystal M. Fuller, Judith Absalon, Danielle C. Ompad, Denis Nash, Beryl Koblin, Shannon Blaney, Sandro Galea, David Vlahov

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

The purpose of this analysis was to determine the prevalence and correlates of HIV infection among a street-recruited sample of heroin- and cocaine-using men who have sex with men (MSM). Injection (injecting ≤3 years) and non-injection drug users (heroin, crack, and/or cocaine use <10 years) between 18 and 40 years of age were simultaneously street-recruited into two cohort studies in New York City, 2000-2003, by using identical recruitment techniques. Baseline data collected among young adult men who either identified as gay/bisexual or reported ever having sex with a man were used for this analysis. Nonparametric statistics guided interpretation. Of 95 heroin/ cocaine-using MSM, 25.3% tested HIV seropositive with 75% reporting a previous HIV diagnosis. The majority was black (46%) or Hispanic (44%), and the median age was 28 years (range 18-40). HIV-seropositive MSM were more likely than seronegatives to be older and to have an HIV-seropositive partner but less likely to report current homelessness, illegal income, heterosexual identity, multiple sex partners, female partners, and sex for money/drug partners than seronegatives. These data indicate high HIV prevalence among street-recruited, drug-using MSM compared with other injection drug use (IDU) subgroups and drug-using MSM; however, lower risk behaviors were found among HIV seropositives compared with seronegatives. Large-scale studies among illicit drug-using MSM from more marginalized neighborhoods are warranted.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)i51-i61
JournalJournal of Urban Health
Volume82
Issue numberSUPPL. 1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2005
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Drug use
  • HIV
  • MSM
  • Sex risk behavior

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health(social science)
  • Urban Studies
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A comparison of HIV seropositive and seronegative young adult heroin- and cocaine-using men who have sex with men in New York City, 2000-2003'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this