Perception of primary male sexual partners’ characteristics and women’s history of sexually transmissible infections in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Ly T. Tran A G , Thanh C. Bui B , Vy T. Pham C , Christine M. Markham D , Alan G. Nyitray A , Michael D. Swartz E , Loi T. Tran F and Lu-Yu Hwang A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
B Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
C Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, Ho Chi Minh City, 70000, Vietnam.
D Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
E Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
F Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, 70000, Vietnam.
G Corresponding author. Email: Ly.T.Tran@uth.tmc.edu
Sexual Health 12(4) 328-335 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH14221
Submitted: 18 November 2014 Accepted: 24 March 2015 Published: 25 May 2015
Abstract
Background: Evidence regarding whether male partners’ characteristics can influence women’s likelihood of getting sexually transmissible infections (STIs) is insufficient and inconsistent. Our study examined associations between women’s perception of primary male partners’ demographic and behavioural characteristics and women’s history of bacterial STI diagnoses among 126 women at risk for STIs in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Methods: All variables were obtained by women’s self-report. Due to the excess zeroes of the number of bacterial STI diagnoses for women, we used Zero-Inflated Poisson regression to examine associations of interest. Results: Among women who had one lifetime male partner (n = 49), the partner’s number of female sexual partners [prevalence ratio (PR) = 4.63, 95%CI = 1.44–14.88] and number of STI diagnoses (PR = 27.32, 95%CI = 1.56–477.70) were associated with the woman’s number of bacterial STI diagnoses, after adjusting for women’s education level. For women who had >1 lifetime male partner (n = 77), a greater number of women’s bacterial STI diagnoses was also associated with their partners’ STI history (PR = 9.12, 95% CI = 2.44–34.11). Conclusions: An increased risk for STIs in women was associated with both individual characteristics and their primary male partner’s behavioural risk factors. Therefore, primary male partners’ risk factors should be included in STI risk assessments, treatment and interventions for women.
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