Chen Hui, Chen Yingjie, Liu Shangbin, Yu Xiaoyue, Wang Huwen, Chang Ruijie, Wang Rongxi, Liu Yujie, Xu Chen, Wang Ying, Cai Yong
School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Transgend Health. 2024 Jun 17;9(3):222-231. doi: 10.1089/trgh.2022.0081. eCollection 2024 Jun.
PURPOSE: Although transgender women (TGW) bear the highest HIV burden worldwide, routine surveillance of this group is rare. We aimed to evaluate the trends in health characteristics of Chinese TGW. METHODS: Three cross-sectional studies using snowball sampling were conducted in 2014, 2017, and 2019, primarily in Shenyang, China. A questionnaire and voluntary HIV testing were used to obtain information on background characteristics, sexual behaviors, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) willingness, and HIV status. RESULTS: There were 220 respondents in 2014, 198 in 2017, and 247 in 2019 (average age 31.1±7.6 to 33.5±9.6 years). HIV prevalence significantly decreased from 29.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 25.3-38.4%) in 2014 to 19.4% (95% CI: 14.7-24.9%) in 2019 (<0.05). The proportion of participants reporting condomless anal intercourse (CAI) with any partner fluctuated from 30.8% (95% CI: 25.1-36.1%) to 53.0% (95% CI: 45.8-60.1%). The proportion of participants willing to use PrEP decreased from 86.4% (95% CI: 81.1-90.6%) in 2014 to 62.8% (95% CI: 56.4-68.8%) in 2019. Factors significantly associated with HIV infection were CAI with any partner (multivariate odds ratio [ORm]: 3.58, 95% CI: 1.55-8.29 in 2017; ORm: 3.18, 95% CI: 1.56-6.46 in 2019) and PrEP willingness (ORm: 0.26, 95% CI: 0.12-0.58 in 2017). CONCLUSION: HIV prevalence and associated risk factors remain substantial among Chinese TGW. There is an urgent need to strengthen HIV surveillance in this population, and develop trans-friendly and effective interventions to minimize HIV prevalence and transmission.
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