The risk of HIV infection for noninjecting sex partners of injecting drug users in Stockholm.

The risk for sexual transmission of HIV to noninjecting partners of injecting drug users in the course of their drug-using career was analyzed in a study of sexual behavior among 200 detained injecting drug users at the Remand Prison in Stockholm. Of the 194 who reported sexual intercourse during the last three years, 69% of the men and 41% of the women had had at least one noninjecting partner. Of the 119 with a regular partner at the time of arrest, 43% of the men and 8% of the women had a noninjecting regular partner. The HIV seroprevalence increased, whereas the proportion of noninjecting partners decreased with the duration of the drug-using career. Amphetamine injectors, who constitute the majority of drug injectors in Stockholm, reported a higher frequency of intercourse on drugs with regular partners than did the heroin users. The reported frequency of condom use was very low among the seronegative injectors, but somewhat higher among the seropositive injectors. The noninjecting regular sex partners can be said to share the risk for HIV infection along the course of the drug career of their injecting partners.