AIDSWEEKLY Plus, 13 May 1996 issue; Published by Charles Henderson, Publisher. Editorial & Publishing Office: P.O. Box 5528, Atlanta, GA 30307-0528 / Telephone: (800) 633-4931; Subscription Office: P.O. Box 830409, Birmingham, AL 35283-0409 / FAX: (205) 995-1588
Daniel J. DeNoon, Senior Editor

Overall, American heterosexuals have done little to reduce their risk of acquiring HIV infection.

More than 70 percent of all HIV infections worldwide are transmitted via heterosexual sex. But heterosexuals account for only 7 percent of U.S. AIDS cases.

The latest data show that in the U.S., men who have sex with women and women who have sex with men are willing to take their chances.

"Two national cross-sectional surveys, conducted in 1990/91 and 1992, indicate that the overall HIV risk levels of U.S. heterosexuals 18 to 49 years of age remained unchanged over time," report Kyung-Hee Choi and Joseph A. Catania of the University of California, San Francisco.

There was an underwhelming increase in condom use in this group - from 11 to 20 percent - but it occurred among those with acknowledged HIV risk factors.

Indirect corroboration of this finding came from a private study by Towne-Oller and Associates of New York City, which showed that the number of condoms sold in the U.S. increased 2.3 percent between 1990 and 1992.

"We found that women, whites, people in their 20s and 40s, the college educated, and those who were ever married made little change in their condom use," Choi and Catania reported.

"People with less than a high school education appear to protect themselves against HIV infection by increasing condom use rather than by reducing the number of sexual partners."

Indeed, sex with a risky partner increased among those lacking a high-school education from 3 percent in 1990/91 to 10 percent in 1992.

The 1990/91 data presented by Choi and Catania came from the National AIDS Behavioral Study, which between July 1990 and February 1991 conducted random-digit telephone interviews with a national sample of 2673 adults age 18 to 75 years.

The National AIDS Behavioral Methodology Survey in 1992 used similar sampling techniques to conduct telephone interviews with 2030 adults age 18 to 49 years.

Data were weighted to adjust for unequal probabilities of selection and response. Only heterosexuals were included in the analysis.

Choi and Catania acknowledged that there is a current debate over whether AIDS-prevention efforts should be aimed only at populations considered at high risk of acquiring HIV infection.

"To help resolve the targeting controversy, more information is needed on heterosexual risk behaviors," they noted.

However, their findings led them to conclude that U.S. heterosexuals are ill informed.

"These results suggest a continuing need for HIV education among heterosexual adults," Choi and Catania concluded. "Research is needed to monitor patterns of risk behaviors in this population."

This research was supported by grants MH43892, MH4240, and MH42459 from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Aging.

The corresponding author for this study is Kyung-Hee Choi, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco, 74 New Montgomery, Suite 600, San Francisco, California 94105.

Copyright (c) 1995 - Charles Henderson, Publisher. All rights Reserved. Permission to reproduce granted to AEGIS by Charles W. Henderson. Authorization to reproduce for personal use granted granted by C. W. Henderson, Publisher, provided that the fee of US$4.50 per copy, per page is paid directly to the Copyright Clearance Center, 27 Congress Street, Salem, Massachusetts 01970, USA.

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Copyright © 1996 - Charles Henderson, Publisher. All rights Reserved. Permission to reproduce granted to AEGIS by Charles W. Henderson. Authorization to reproduce for personal use granted granted by C. W. Henderson, Publisher, provided that the fee of US$4.50 per copy, per page is paid directly to the Copyright Clearance Center, 27 Congress Street, Salem, Massachusetts 01970, USA.