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

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.