Men who have sex with men and women: a unique risk group for HIV transmission on North Carolina College campuses

Abstract

Objective: To better understand the role that men who have sex with men and women (MSM/W) play in the spread of HIV in young adults in North Carolina, we determined the prevalence of MSM/W among newly diagnosed HIV-infected men, compared social and behavioral characteristics of this group with MSM and MSW, and examined the sexual networks associated with HIV-infected college students among these groups.

Methods: We reviewed state HIV surveillance records for all new diagnoses of HIV in males 18 to 30 years living in North Carolina between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2004.

Results: Of 1,105 records available for review, 15% were MSM/W and 13% were college students. Compared with MSM, MSM/W were more likely to be enrolled in college, to report >10 sex partners in the year before diagnosis, or have sex partners who were also MSM/W. Sexual network analysis of the HIV-infected college students revealed that MSM/W occupied a central position. Of 20 individuals who described themselves as either MSW or abstinent at the time of their initial voluntary counseling and testing visit, 80% reported that they were either MSM or MSM/W during follow up.

Discussion: MSM/W represent a unique risk group within the population of MSM that deserve further investigation. College MSM/W appear to occupy a unique, central place in the network of HIV-infected students.