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The Context of HIV Risk Among Drug Users and Their Sexual Partners

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in mind, however, that most <strong>of</strong> the prior studies that reported a positive<br />

association between UAI <strong>and</strong> NMPD use can be at least partially<br />

explained simply on the basis <strong>of</strong> a relationship between NMPD use <strong>and</strong><br />

increased frequency <strong>of</strong> sex or number <strong>of</strong> sexual partners, regardless <strong>of</strong><br />

mechanism. However, the author <strong>and</strong> colleagues believe that any<br />

associations observed between specific drug categories <strong>and</strong> specific<br />

high-risk activities can be cited in support <strong>of</strong> multiple causal mechanisms,<br />

from the social, physiological, cognitive, <strong>and</strong> clinical domains <strong>of</strong><br />

behavioral science.<br />

Summary <strong>of</strong> Findings from Three Ongoing Prospective<br />

Studies<br />

Three ongoing cohort studies <strong>of</strong> gay <strong>and</strong> bisexual men provide the most<br />

detailed evidence <strong>of</strong> the nature <strong>and</strong> mechanisms <strong>of</strong> the association<br />

between NMPD use <strong>and</strong> <strong>HIV</strong>-transmitting sexual behavior: the Chicago<br />

MACS/CCS cohort, whose NMPD use history is detailed above; the<br />

Boston <strong>Partners</strong> Study, also described above (Seage et al 1992); <strong>and</strong> the<br />

Toronto <strong>Sexual</strong> Contact Study, which recently published an analysis<br />

spanning the 5-year period <strong>of</strong> 1984/1985 to 1989/1990 (Calzavara et al.<br />

1993). <strong>The</strong>se three studies are reviewed according to a hierarchy <strong>of</strong><br />

evidence that combines the three category methodological typology <strong>of</strong><br />

Leigh <strong>and</strong> Stall with whether or not the outcome examined is sexual risk<br />

behavior or rates <strong>of</strong> <strong>HIV</strong> infection.<br />

Cross-Sectional Global Associations <strong>of</strong> NMPD Use <strong>and</strong> High-<strong>Risk</strong><br />

<strong>Sexual</strong> Behavior. Table 3 summarizes the significant associations<br />

across 6 years <strong>of</strong> global NMPD use <strong>and</strong> unprotected receptive anal sex<br />

(RAS) among members <strong>of</strong> the Chicago MACS/CCS cohort (Ostrow et al.<br />

1993). <strong>Among</strong> the 10 categories <strong>of</strong> NMPDs examined at all<br />

12 semiannual assessments, only popper use showed a consistent <strong>and</strong><br />

strong cross-sectional association with unprotected RAS. While the other<br />

commonly used NMPDs had inconsistent associations with high-risk sex<br />

in this cohort, the use <strong>of</strong> both poppers <strong>and</strong> either cocaine or marijuana<br />

was associated with the highest rates <strong>of</strong> unprotected RAS throughout the<br />

study period.<br />

Association <strong>of</strong> Global NMPD Use <strong>and</strong> <strong>HIV</strong> Infection Rates. Both<br />

the Chicago MACS/CCS (Chmiel et al. 1987) <strong>and</strong> Boston <strong>Partners</strong> Study<br />

(Seage et al. 1992) demonstrate baseline prevalence rates <strong>of</strong> <strong>HIV</strong><br />

infection that were significantly higher among NMPD users when<br />

compared with nonusers. Similar odds ratios for cross-sectional <strong>HIV</strong><br />

98

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