Partner Characteristics and HIV Acquisition among Youth in Rakai, Uganda

Ying Wei, Columbia University
Sanyukta Mathur, Columbia University
Xiaobo Zhong, Columbia University
Zoe R. Edelstein, Columbia University
Mariko Rasmussen, Columbia University
Xiaoyu Song, Columbia University
Maria Wawer, Johns Hopkins University
Ronald H. Gray, Johns Hopkins University
David Serwadda, Makerere University
John Santelli, Columbia University

We examined the contribution of partner characteristics on HIV acquisition among youth in Uganda. We used self-reported data from 15-24 years-olds from a population-based cohort (2005-2011) on up to four most recent sexual partners (n=9,062 partner profiles across 7,080 participants). Poisson regression was used to calculate incident rate ratios (IRR). We found that partner profiles for marital and non-marital partners were significantly different for males and females. Multivariate analyses adjusting for individual-level risk factors, showed that young women’s likelihood of HIV acquisition increased with each non-marital sexual partner (IRR: 1.54 [1.20-1.98]), each partner who drank alcohol before sex (IRR: 1.57 [1.11-2.21]), and each partner who used condoms inconsistently (IRR: 1.99 [1.33-2.04]). Among young men, only having non-marital partnerships increased HIV acquisition (IRR for each partner: 1.54[1.20, 1.98]). Partner characteristics predicted HIV acquisition among youth. HIV prevention programs should emphasize knowledge of partners and characteristics of partners that increase HIV risk.