Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

High Rates of Sex with Men among High-Risk, Heterosexually-Identified Men in Low-Income, Coastal Peru

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
AIDS and Behavior Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this paper we describe sex with men, including the frequency of sex and unprotected sex, among high-risk, heterosexually-identified men in urban, low-income, coastal Peru. During 2001–2002, a random community-based sample of these men was administered an epidemiologic survey collecting sexual risk behavior data. Among the 924 high-risk heterosexually-identified men, 131 (14.2%) reported at least one male partner in the past 6 months. Of these, 113 (86.3%) reported male and female partners and among those with partners of both sexes, 84.2% and 57.0% of sex acts with female and male partners, respectively, were unprotected, (RR 1.48, 95% CI = 1.31–1.68). We observed a high rate of recent bisexual behavior compared to past studies showing frequent, unprotected sex with male and female partners. This population has substantial potential to act as a bridge population between and their male and female partners and should be addressed by prevention programs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alarcon, J., Johnson, K., Courtois, B., Rodriguez, C., Sanchez, J., Watts, D., & Holmes, K. (2003). Determinants and prevalence of HIV infection in pregnant Peruvian women. Aids, 17, 613–618.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bautista, C. T., Sanchez, J. L., Montano, S. M., Laguna-Torres, V. A., Lama, J. R., Kusunoki, L., Manrique, H., Acosta, J., Montoya, O., Tambare, A. M., Avila, M. M., Vinoles, J., Aguayo, N., Olson, J. G., & Carr, J. K. (2004a). Seroprevalence of and risk factors for HIV-1 infection among South American men who have sex with men. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 80, 498–504.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Caceres, C. F. (1999). La (re)configuracion del universo sexual: Cultura(s) sexual(es) y salud sexual entre los jovenes de Lima a vuelta de milenio. Lima, Peru: Redess Jovenes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cáceres, C. F., & Rosasco, A. M. (2000). Secreto a voces. Homoerotismo masculino en Lima: Culturas, Identidades y Salud Sexual. Lima: Redess Jóvenes.

  • Cáceres, C. F., Salazar, X., Rosasco, A. M., Mendoza, W., Leon, S. R., Kegeles, S., Maiorana, A., Lescano, A. G., Klausner, J. D., & Coates, T. J. (2004). Where the Needs are: Identifying those at higher risk for HIV to implement a prevention trial in lower-income communities in Peru: Implications for public health programming. Paper presented at the XV International AIDS Conference, Bangkok, Thailand.

  • Chu, S. Y., Peterman, T. A., Doll, L. S., Buehler, J. W., & Curran, J. W. (1992). AIDS in bisexual men in the United States: epidemiology and transmission to women. American Journal of Public Health, 82, 220–224.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Diaz, R. (1998). Latino gay men and HIV: Culture, sexuality, and risk behavior. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finlinson, H. A., Colon, H. M., Robles, R. R., & Soto, M. (2006). Sexual identity formation and AIDS prevention: an exploratory study of non-gay-identified Puerto Rican MSM from working class neighborhoods. AIDS and Behavior, 10, 531–539.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, K. M., Alarcon, J., Watts, D. M., Rodriguez, C., Velasquez, C., Sanchez, J., Lockhart, D., Stoner, B. P., & Holmes, K. K. (2003). Sexual networks of pregnant women with and without HIV infection. Aids, 17, 605–612.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Juarez-Figueroa, L. A., Uribe-Salas, F. J., Conde-Glez, C. J., Hernandez-Avila, M., Hernandez-Nevarez, P., Uribe-Zuniga, P., & del Rio-Chiriboga, C. (1997). Hepatitis B markers in men seeking human immunodeficiency virus antibody testing in Mexico City. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 24, 211–217.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kerr-Pontes, L. R., Gondim, R., Mota, R. S., Martins, T. A., & Wypij, D. (1999). Self-reported sexual behaviour and HIV risk taking among men who have sex with men in Fortaleza, Brazil. Aids, 13, 709–717.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Konda, K. A., Klausner, J. D., Lescano, A. G., Leon, S., Jones, F. R., Pajuelo, J., Caceres, C. F., & Coates, T. J. (2005). The Epidemiology of herpes simplex virus type 2 infection in low-income urban populations in Coastal Peru. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 32, 534–541.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lama, J. R., Lucchetti, A., Suarez, L., Laguna-Torres, V. A., Guanira, J. V., Pun, M., Montano, S. M., Celum, C. L., Carr, J. K., Sanchez, J., Bautista, C. T., & Sanchez, J. L. (2006). Association of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 infection and syphilis with human immunodeficiency virus infection among men who have sex with men in Peru. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 194, 1459–1466.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, M., Serner, M., & Wagner, M. (2005). Sexual diversity among black men who have sex with men in an inner-city community. Journal of Urban Health, 82, S26–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Millett, G., Malebranche, D., Mason, B., & Spikes, P. (2005). Focusing “down low”: Bisexual black men, HIV risk and heterosexual transmission. Journal of the National Medical Association, 97, 52S–59S.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Montano, S. M., Sanchez, J. L., Laguna-Torres, A., Cuchi, P., Avila, M. M., Weissenbacher, M., Serra, M., Vinoles, J., Russi, J. C., Aguayo, N., Galeano, A. H., Gianella, A., Andrade, R., Arredondo, A., Ramirez, E., Acosta, M. E., Alava, A., Montoya, O., Guevara, A., Manrique, H., Lama, J. R., de la Hoz, F., Sanchez, G. I., Ayala, C., Pacheco, M. E., Carrion, G., Chauca, G., Perez, J. J., Negrete, M., Russell, K. L., Bautista, C. T., Olson, J. G., Watts, D. M., Birx, D. L., & Carr, J. K. (2005). Prevalences, genotypes, and risk factors for HIV transmission in South America. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and Human Retrovirology, 40, 57–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • OGE. (2006). Situación Epidemiológica del VIH/SIDA en el Perú. Boletín Epidemiológico Mensual Enero 2006. Available at http://www.oge.sld.pe/vih/Boletin%202006/Enero.pdf,. Retrieved Accessed 03–17–06, 2006.

  • Rietmeijer, C. A., Wolitski, R. J., Fishbein, M., Corby, N. H., & Cohn, D. L. (1998). Sex hustling, injection drug use, and non-gay identification by men who have sex with men. Associations with high-risk sexual behaviors and condom use. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 25, 353–360.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rudolph, M., & Hersey, S. (2000). Sexual behavior, STIs and HIV among men who have sex with men in Phnom Penh, Cambodia 2000. Durham: Family Health International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salazar, X., Cáceres, C. F., Rosasco, A. M., Kegeles, S., Maiorana, A., Gárate, M., & Coates, T. J. (2005). Vulnerability and sexual risks: vagos and vaguitas in a low income town in Peru. Culture, Health and Sexuality, 7, 375–387.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez, J., & Gotuzzo, E. (1995). Epidemiología del SIDA en el Perú. In J. Sánchez, G. Mazzoti, L. Cuellar, P. Campos, & E. Gotuzzo (Eds.), SIDA epidemiología, diagnostico, tratamiento y control de la infección VIH/SIDA (pp. 25–32). Lima, Peru: PROPACEB.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez, J., Gotuzzo, E., Escamilla, J., Carrillo, C., Phillips, I. A., Barrios, C., Stamm, W. E., Ashley, R. L., Kreiss, J. K., & Holmes, K. K. (1996). Gender differences in sexual practices and sexually transmitted infections among adults in Lima, Peru. American Journal of Public Health, 86, 1098–1107.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, P. M., Morse, E. V., Balson, P. M., Osofsky, H. J., & Gaumer, H. R. (1993). Barriers to human immunodeficiency virus related risk reduction among male street prostitutes. Health Education Quarterly, 20, 261–273.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, T. R. (1996). The challenge of HIV prevention among high-risk adolescents. Health and Social Work, 21, 58–65.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tabet, S., Sanchez, J., Lama, J., Goicochea, P., Campos, P., Rouillon, M., Cairo, J. L., Ueda, L., Watts, D., Celum, C., & Holmes, K. K. (2002). HIV, syphilis and heterosexual bridging among Peruvian men who have sex with men. Aids, 16, 1271–1277.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tabet, S. R., de Moya, E. A., Holmes, K. K., Krone, M. R., de Quinones, M. R., de Lister, M. B., Garris, I., Thorman, M., Castellanos, C., Swenson, P. D., Dallabeta, G. A., & Ryan, C. A. (1996). Sexual behaviors and risk factors for HIV infection among men who have sex with men in the Dominican Republic. Aids, 10, 201–206.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • UNAIDS. (2004). Peru, epidemiological fact sheets on HIV and sexually transmitted infections, 2004 update. Geneva: UNAIDS.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by NIH/NIMH grant number U10 MH61536 which is a 5-country Cooperative Agreement being conducted in China, India, Peru, Russia, and Zimbabwe. Each site has selected a different venue and population with which to implement the prevention program entitled Community Public Opinion Leader (C-POL) Intervention. This article is based on a pre-baseline study conducted in all the sites to prepare for initiation of the intervention. This study was partially supported by LP-CRADA NM-04-1787. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position or the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, nor the U.S. Government. Mr. Andres Lescano is a civilian employee of the U.S. Government working at the US Navy Medical Research Center Detachment in Lima, Peru. This work was prepared as part of his official duties. Title 17 U.S.C. § 105 provides that ‘Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government’. Title 17 U.S.C. § 101 defines a U.S. Government work as a work prepared by a military service member or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Infectious Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Kelika Anne Konda & Thomas J. Coates

  2. US Naval Medical Research Center Detachment, Lima, Peru

    Andres G. Lescano

  3. Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru

    Andres G. Lescano, Percy Fernandez & Carlos F. Cáceres

  4. Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Elli Leontsini

  5. San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Jeffrey D. Klausner

  6. University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Jeffrey D. Klausner

  7. 445 Av. Armendariz, Lima, 18, Peru

    Kelika Anne Konda

Authors
  1. Kelika Anne Konda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Andres G. Lescano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Elli Leontsini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Percy Fernandez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jeffrey D. Klausner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Thomas J. Coates
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Carlos F. Cáceres
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Consortia

NIMH Collaborative STD/HIV Prevention Trial

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kelika Anne Konda.

Additional information

Previously published abstract: Konda, K.A., Fernandez, P. Klausner, J.D., Lescano, A.G., Leon, S.R., Caceres, C.F., and Coates, T.J. (2005). Heterosexually identified, socially marginalized men who report recent sex with men in Peru. In: Abstracts of the 16th biennial International Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research (ISSTDR) (Amsterdam, Netherlands), MP-172.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Konda, K.A., Lescano, A.G., Leontsini, E. et al. High Rates of Sex with Men among High-Risk, Heterosexually-Identified Men in Low-Income, Coastal Peru. AIDS Behav 12, 483–491 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-007-9221-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-007-9221-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation