Study: The Associations of Binge Alcohol Use With HIV/STI Risk and Diagnosis Among Heterosexual African-American Men

While studies on the mechanisms of the association between illicit drug use and HIV/STI offer insight into the disproportionate rates of HIV/STI among heterosexual African-American men, much less research has been conducted to examine the associations between binge drinking and these diseases in this population. The current study, therefore, was designed to determine whether binge drinking is associated with risky sexual activities and recent diagnosis of HIV/STI among heterosexual black men reporting multiple sex partners in the past year.

The subjects of the study were 672 heterosexually active African-American men ages 18 to 65. The men were recruited from urban health facilities in Boston and completed a health survey. The researchers used logistic regression analyses to assess associations between past 30 day binge drinking and these outcome variables: unprotected sex; six or more sex partners in the past year; involvement in sex trade; and diagnosis of HIV/STI in the past six months. The analyses were adjusted to control for demographics, history of incarceration, illicit drug use, and injection drug use.

The results indicated significant associations between binge use of alcohol and unprotected vaginal sex with non-main female partners (AOR=1.7, 95 percent CI=1.2-2.3), unprotected anal sex with non-main female partners (AOR=2.3, 95 percent CI=1.4-4.0), sex trade involvement (AOR=2.1, 95 percent CI=1.3-3.5), and recent HIV/STI diagnosis (AOR=1.9, 95 percent CI=1.05-3.6).

"Heterosexual African-American men engaging in binge alcohol use may be at increased risk for HIV/STI; findings support the need for integrating alcohol risk reduction into HIV prevention programs targeting this population," the authors concluded.

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