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. 2015 Oct 23;10(10):e0140835.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140835. eCollection 2015.

HIV Prevalence Correlates with High-Risk Sexual Behavior in Ethiopia's Regions

Chris R Kenyon  1 , Achilleas Tsoumanis  2 , Ilan Steven Schwartz  3
Affiliations

HIV Prevalence Correlates with High-Risk Sexual Behavior in Ethiopia's Regions

Chris R Kenyon et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: HIV prevalence varies between 0.9 and 6.5% in Ethiopia's eleven regions. Little has been published examining the reasons for this variation.

Methods: We evaluated the relationship between HIV prevalence by region and a range of risk factors in the 2005 and 2011 Ethiopian Demographic Health Surveys. Pearson's correlation was used to assess the relationship between HIV prevalence and each variable.

Results: There was a strong association between HIV prevalence and three markers of sexual risk: mean lifetime number of partners (men: r = 0.87; P < 0.001; women: r = 0.60; P = 0.05); reporting sex with a non-married, non-cohabiting partner (men: r = 0.92; P < 0.001, women r = 0.93; P < 0.001); and premarital sex. Condom usage and HIV testing were positively associated with HIV prevalence, while the prevalence of circumcision, polygamy, age at sexual debut and male migration were not associated with HIV prevalence.

Conclusion: Variation in sexual behavior may contribute to the large variations in HIV prevalence by region in Ethiopia. Population-level interventions to reduce risky sexual behavior in high HIV incidence regions should be considered.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. 15–49 year old HIV prevalence (%) by region as determined by Ethiopian Demographic Health Surveys 2005 and 2011.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Association between adult HIV prevalence (15–49 years) and various HIV risk factors in 15–59 year old men (left) and 15–49 year old women (right) in the 2011 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey.
Age of first sex (A), percent reporting pre-marital sex (15–24 year olds; B), mean number of lifetime sexual partners (C), percent reporting sex with a non-married, non-cohabiting partner in prior 12 months (15–59 years; D), the percent of men who reported being circumcised (E), polygamy—percent of married women who report that their husband has other wives (F), condom usage—the percentage who reported using a condom at last sex (G), percent ever tested for HIV (H) and migration–the percent of all men who reported spending more than one month away from home in the past year (I).
Fig 3
Fig 3. Histograms of the reported number of lifetime sexual partners by region in men aged 15–59 years (EDHS 2011).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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