How Many Sexual Partners Are Too Many for Elderly Men From Rural China Who Visit Female Sex Workers Becoming HIV-Positive?

Abstract

Objectives. To make clear how many sexual partners (SPs) are too many for elderly (≥50 years old) men becoming HIV-positive from rural China.Methods. We conducted a case-control study: 99 newly HIV (+) vs. 88 HIV (-) elderly men with similar age who visited female sex workers (FSW). Receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curves and backward binary logistic regression was applied. Results. Cases had more SPs (315.66±401.33) than controls(14.63±25.63)in their lifetime, mainly commercial SPs(313.98±401.38 vs.12.81±25.85), similarly in the last three years. AUCs for HIV infection at number of accumulated SPs and of commercial SPs were 0.89 and 0.90, and correspondingly 0.79 and 0.81 in the last three years. Cut-off values were identified as 51.5, 52.5, 5.5 and 4.5 based on Youden’s indexes (0.715, 0.705, 0.612 and 0.601). Risky factors for HIV infection among elderly men were having 52-2002 SPs in their lifetime (AOR (95%CI): 56.33(11.36-279.25)), having 5-289 commercial SPs in the last three years (11.55(2.78-47.94)). Conclusions. ≥52 SPs in their lifetime and ≥5 FSW in the last three years are too many for elderly men from rural China becoming HIV-positive.