Posts
The researchers used a population-based sexual network study to identify network structures associated with the risk of sexually transmitted infection and to evaluate the degree to which network-level data further the understanding of STI risk.The subjects of the research were 655 individuals from the baseline and 12-month follow-up waves of a 2001-02 population-based longitudinal study of sexual networks among urban African-American adolescents. Sexual network position was characterized as the interaction between degree (the number of partners) and two-reach centrality (the number of partners' partners). Based on this, five positions were determined: confirmed dyad, unconfirmed dyad, periphery of non-dyadic component, center of star-like component, and interior of non-star component. Laboratory-confirmed gonorrhea and/or chlamydia infection was used to measure STI risk.
Being at the center of a sexual network component increased the odds of infection at least six-fold compared with being in a confirmed dyad, according to logistic regression models with generalized estimating equations. Despite having just one partner, individuals on the periphery of non-dyadic components had nearly five times the STI risk of individuals in confirmed dyads.
"Measuring network position using only individual-based information led to two-fold underestimates of the associations between STI risk and network position," the authors determined. "These results demonstrate the importance of measuring sexual network structure using network data to fully capture the probability of exposure to an infected partner."
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
Together We Remain Strong!
