All of the authors are with both the Department of Public Health Sciences and the Chicago Center for HIV Elimination, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. John A. Schneider is also affiliated with the Department of Medicine, University of Chicago.
Am J Public Health. 2018 Nov;108(11):1528-1534. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2018.304438. Epub 2018 Sep 25.
To determine how network-level factors influence individual risk of HIV acquisition, which is key in preventing disease transmission.
We recruited a cohort of young Black men who have sex with men (n = 618) in Chicago, Illinois, from 2013 to 2016. We identified potential molecular ties via pairwise genetic distance analysis of HIV pol sequences with links inferred between individuals whose sequences were 1.5% or less genetically distant. We defined clusters as 1 or more connections to another individual. We conducted entity resolution between confidant, sexual, referral, and Facebook network data between network types.
Of 266 (43.0%) participants identified as HIV-positive, we obtained 86 (32.3%) genetic sequences. Of these, 35 (40.7%) were linked to 1 or more other sequence; however, none of these were identified in first-, second-, or third-degree confidant and sexual networks. Minimal overlap existed between genetic and Facebook ties.
These results suggest that HIV transmissions may have occurred before elicitation of network data; future studies should expand the data collection timeframe to more accurately determine risk networks. Virtual network data, such as Facebook, may be particularly useful in developing one's risk environment.
确定网络层面的因素如何影响个体感染 HIV 的风险，这是预防疾病传播的关键。
我们招募了 2013 年至 2016 年间在伊利诺伊州芝加哥市与男性发生性关系的年轻黑人男性（n=618）作为队列。我们通过对 HIV pol 序列进行成对遗传距离分析来识别潜在的分子联系，并在遗传距离在 1.5%或以下的个体之间推断联系。我们将簇定义为与另一个个体的 1 个或多个连接。我们在网络类型之间对密友、性、推荐和 Facebook 网络数据进行实体解析。
在 266 名（43.0%）被确定为 HIV 阳性的参与者中，我们获得了 86 名（32.3%）遗传序列。其中，35 名（40.7%）与 1 名或多名其他序列有联系；然而，这些联系都没有在一级、二级或三级密友和性网络中发现。遗传联系和 Facebook 联系之间几乎没有重叠。
这些结果表明，HIV 传播可能发生在收集网络数据之前；未来的研究应扩大数据收集时间范围，以更准确地确定风险网络。虚拟网络数据，如 Facebook，可能特别有助于了解一个人的风险环境。
