Dataset Information

Are circumcised men safer sex partners? Findings from the HAALSI cohort in rural South Africa.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

The real-world association between male circumcision and HIV status has important implications for policy and intervention practice. For instance, women may assume that circumcised men are safer sex partners than non-circumcised men and adjust sexual partnering and behavior according to these beliefs. Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is highly efficacious in preventing HIV acquisition in men and this biological efficacy should lead to a negative association between circumcision and HIV. However, behavioral factors such as differential selection into circumcision based on current HIV status or factors associated with future HIV status could reverse the association. Here, we examine how HIV prevalence differs by circumcision status in older adult men in a rural South African community, a non-experimental setting in a time of expanding VMMC access.

Methods

We analyzed data collected from a population-based sample of 2345 men aged 40 years and older in a rural community served by the Agincourt Health and socio-Demographic Surveillance System site in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. We describe circumcision prevalence and estimate the association between circumcision and laboratory-confirmed HIV status with log-binomial regression models.

Results

One quarter of older men reported circumcision, with slightly more initiation-based circumcisions (56%) than hospital-based circumcisions (44%). Overall, the evidence did not suggest differences in HIV prevalence between circumcised and uncircumcised men; however, those who reported hospital-based circumcision were more likely to test HIV-positive [PR (95% CI): 1.28 (1.03, 1.59)] while those who reported initiation-based circumcision were less likely to test HIV-positive [PR (95% CI): 0.68 (0.51, 0.90)]. Effects were attenuated, but not reversed after adjustment for key covariates.

Conclusions

Medically circumcised older men in a rural South African community had higher HIV prevalence than uncircumcised men, suggesting that the effect of selection into circumcision may be stronger than the biological efficacy of circumcision in preventing HIV acquisition. The impression given from circumcision policy and dissemination of prior trial findings that those who are circumcised are safer sex partners may be incorrect in this age group and needs to be countered by interventions, such as educational campaigns.

SUBMITTER: Rosenberg MS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6070310 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Are circumcised men safer sex partners? Findings from the HAALSI cohort in rural South Africa.

Rosenberg Molly S MS Gómez-Olivé Francesc X FX Rohr Julia K JK Kahn Kathleen K Bärnighausen Till W TW

PloS one 20180801 8

<h4>Introduction</h4>The real-world association between male circumcision and HIV status has important implications for policy and intervention practice. For instance, women may assume that circumcised men are safer sex partners than non-circumcised men and adjust sexual partnering and behavior according to these beliefs. Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is highly efficacious in preventing HIV acquisition in men and this biological efficacy should lead to a negative association between ...[more]

PMID: 30067842

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Project description:ObjectivesTo characterize the cardiovascular disease (CVD) profile of individuals aged 80 and older in rural South Africa.DesignFirst wave of population-based longitudinal cohort.SettingAgincourt subdistrict (Mpumalanga Province) in rural South Africa.ParticipantsAdults residents (N = 5,059).MeasurementsIn-person interviews were conducted to obtain social, behavioral, economic, and clinical data. Prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, high waist-to-hip ratio, overweight and obesity, high-risk high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, smoking, stroke, myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, and heart failure in individuals younger than 65, aged 65 to 79, and aged 80 and older were compared. Associations between self-reported treatments and determinants of hypertension treatment in those aged 80 and older were assessed using multivariable regression.ResultsOf 5,059 individuals included, 549 (10.8%) were aged 80 and older, and their CVD prevalence was 17.9% (stroke 3.8%, myocardial infarction 0.5%, angina pectoris 13.5%, heart failure 0.7%). Hypertension prevalence in this group was 73.8%, and along with angina pectoris, it increased with age (p<.001), whereas overweight and obesity (46.4%), dyslipidemia (39.1%), and smoking prevalences (3.1%) decreased (p<.001). Hypertension treatment was significantly associated with being aged 80 and older (odds ratio (OR)=1.48; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.14-1.92, p=.003). Male sex (OR=0.73, 95% CI=0.66-0.88, p=.001), being an immigrant (OR=0.80, 95% CI=0.65-0.98; p=.03), higher socioeconomic status (OR=1.28, 95% CI=1.06-1.53, p=.009), and higher depression score (OR=1.12, 95% CI=1.05-1.19, p<.001) were associated with hypertension treatment in those aged 80 and older.ConclusionThis is the first study to characterize the CVD profile of individuals aged 80 and older in sub-Saharan Africa and provides baseline data for comparison with future studies in this rapidly growing age group. J Am Geriatr Soc 66:2151-2157, 2018.

Dataset Information

Are circumcised men safer sex partners? Findings from the HAALSI cohort in rural South Africa.

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Are circumcised men safer sex partners? Findings from the HAALSI cohort in rural South Africa.

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