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Table 1 Weighted characteristicsa by condomless anal intercourse (CAI) among 8,086 men who have sex with men (MSM) and 21,723 MSM sexual encounters in 10 Indian cities

From: Substance use is associated with condomless anal intercourse among men who have sex with men in India: a partner-level analysis

Characteristic N (%), median (IQR)

Condomless anal intercourse (N = 4,290)

Anal intercourse without condoms (N = 3,796)

Total (N = 8,086)

  Individual-level characteristics

  Median age

28 (22, 36)

29 (23, 37)

28 (23, 36)

  Marital status

    Never married

2,018 (52.8)

1,577 (42.2)

3,595 (47.6)

    Currently married/ living with partner

2,006 (41.2)

2,031 (52.6)

4,037 (46.9)

    Divorced/ widowed/ separated/ other

266 (5.9)

187 (5.1)

453 (5.5)

  Sexual identity

    Panthi

1,616 (41.1)

1,145 (35.2)

2,761 (38.2)

    Kothi

1,007 (18.2)

1,223 (25.9)

2,230 (22.0)

    Double-decker

1,210 (27.9)

1,045 (23.8)

2,255 (25.8)

    Gay/ MSM

57 (0.1)

80 (2.0)

137 (1.5)

    Bisexual

400 (11.9)

303 (13.1)

703 (12.5)

  Education

    Primary school or less

894 (18.3)

659 (14.7)

1,553 (16.6)

    Secondary school

1,894 (46.1)

1,510 (39.7)

3,404 (42.9)

    High school or more

1,502 (35.6)

1,626 (45.6)

3,128 (40.5)

  Monthly income

    < $50

526 (14.1)

507 (13.0)

1,033 (13.6)

    $50-$115

969 (19.7)

851 (18.3)

1,820 (19.0)

    > $115

2,795 (66.2)

2,438 (68.7)

5,233 (67.4)

    HIV treatment literacyb

1,198 (22.7)

1,702 (35.4)

2,900 (29.1)

    History of sex workc

1,733 (27.7)

1,192 (22.0)

2,925 (24.8)

    Median number of sexual partners in prior 6 months

2 (1, 5)

2 (1, 4)

3 (1, 7)

    Childhood sexual abused

1,075 (20.5)

908 (17.1)

1,983 (18.8)

    Forced sexe

1,048 (18.7)

856 (17.3)

1,904 (18.0)

    Ever sex with woman

2,988 (72.3)

2,502 (73.9)

5,490 (73.1)

    Median alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) score

5 (0–11)

1 (0–7)

3 (0–9)

    Substance use in prior 6 monthsf (excluding marijuana)

619 (7.9)

308 (4.9)

927 (6.4)

    Substance use in prior 6 monthsf (including marijuana)

946 (14.9)

532 (9.3)

1,478 (12.1)

    Syphilis (self-reported)

163 (2.9)

207 (3.3)

370 (3.1)

    STI symptoms in prior 6 monthsg

266 (5.4)

156 (4.2)

422 (4.8)

  HSV-2 status

    Negative

3,192 (74.5)

2,517 (69.2)

5,709 (71.9)

    Positive

923 (21.6)

1,111 (26.7)

2,034 (24.1)

    Indeterminate

169 (3.9)

166 (4.0)

335 (4.0)

  HIV status of participant

    HIV-

3,816 (90.7)

2,982 (80.4)

6,798 (85.6)

    HIV + , undetectable viral load

193 (4.4)

463 (12.0)

656 (8.1)

    HIV + , detectable viral load

281 (4.9)

351 (7.7)

632 (6.3)

Characteristic N (%), median (IQR)

Unprotected anal intercourse (N = 9,946)

Anal intercourse without condoms (N = 11,777)

Total (N = 21,723)

Partner-level characteristics

  Partner’s identity

    Panthi

3,946 (38.9)

3,065 (36.5)

7,011 (37.8)

    Kothi

3,998 (29.4)

3,861 (34.9)

7,859 (32.0)

    Double-decker

2,677 (20.4)

2,245 (16.9)

4,922 (18.8)

    Gay/ MSM

444 (4.7)

372 (6.5)

816 (5.6)

    Bisexual

219 (2.3)

319 (4.3)

538 (3.3)

    Hijra

493 (4.2)

84 (0.9)

577 (2.6)

  Relationship to partner

    Boyfriend

3,101 (20.2)

2,599 (20.9)

5,700 (20.6)

    Casual/ one-time partner

7,504 (70.0)

6,586 (71.5)

14,090 (70.7)

    Commercial sex worker

1,147 (9.8)

748 (7.6)

1,895 (8.7)

  Partner’s HIV status

    Negative

6,450 (47.7)

6,713 (65.7)

13,163 (56.1)

    Positive

136 (0.6)

185 (2.1)

321 (1.3)

    Unknown

5,191 (51.8)

3,047 (32.2)

8,238 (42.6)

  Use of alcohol/ drugs prior to intercourse

    Never

4,914 (51.6)

6,659 (71.5)

11,573 (60.9)

    Sometimes

4,163 (28.0)

1,866 (16.0)

6,029 (22.4)

    Always

2,697 (20.4)

1,420 (12.4)

4,117 (16.7)

  Frequency of anal intercourse with partner

    Less than weekly

8.134 (79.2)

6,857 (78.3)

14,991 (78.8)

    At least weekly

3,186 (20.8)

2,847 (21.7)

6,033 (21.2)

  Frequency of penetrative anal intercourse with partner

    Never

3,449 (26.0)

3,109 (29.2)

6,558(27.5)

    Less than weekly

5,918 (56.5)

4,866 (56.0)

10,784 (56.3)

    At least weekly

2,354 (17.5)

1,939 (14.8)

4,293 (16.2)

  Frequency of receptive anal intercourse with partner

    Never

4,251 (46.4)

3,182 (40.5)

7,433 (43.6)

    Less than weekly

4,890 (43.9)

4,623 (47.1)

9,513 (45.4)

    At least weekly

1,838 (9.7)

1898 (12.3)

3,736 (11.0)

  1. aPrevalence is RDS-II weighted. Percentages are column percentages. Excluded seeds and individuals who self-identified as hijra
  2. bIncludes anyone who reports having heard of medicines that control HIV or those who agree that medicines exist which treat HIV/ AIDS
  3. cIncludes anyone who reports their profession to be ‘sex worker’ or those who stated they have ever had sex for money/ alcohol/ drugs/ goods
  4. dDefined as anyone who reports unwanted childhood sexual experiences
  5. eDefined as anyone who states that someone has tried to make them have sex when they did not wish to
  6. fIncludes injection and/ or non-injection use of heroin/ brown sugar, cocaine/ crack, stimulant, buprenorphine, allergy medicine/ antihistamine, painkiller, sedative/ tranquilizer, hallucinogen, inhalant/ solvent, intoxicating tobacco, and other substances in past 6 months
  7. gDefined as anyone who reports unusual genital/ anal discharge or pain or sore/ ulcer in the genital/ anal area
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