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Abstract

Alcohol use and STI among men in India: Evidences from a national household survey (HTML) 
Pandey,Arvind; Mishra,Ram Manohar; Reddy,Dandu C.S.; Thomas,Mariamma; Sahu,Damodar; Bharadwaj,Deepak
Indian Journal of Community Medicine 37(2): 95-100
Publication date: 2012

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Background
Alcohol use has been found to correlate with risky sexual behavior as well as with sexually transmitted infections (STI) among populations with high-risk behavior in India.

Objective
To examine the correlates of alcohol use and its association with STI among adult men in India.

Materials and Methods
Data from a national representative large-scale household sample survey in the country were used. It included information on sociodemographic characteristics and alcohol use as a part of substance use. Clinical as well laboratory testing was done to ascertain the STI.

Results
The overall STI prevalence among adult males was found to be 2.5% (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.9-3.1). Over 26% adult men were found to have been using alcohol in the study population. It was higher among men who were illiterate and unskilled industrial workers/drivers. The men who consumed alcohol had higher prevalence of STI (3.6%; 95% CI: 2.9-5.1) than those who did not consume alcohol (2.1%; 95% CI: 1.5-2.6). The degree of association between alcoholism and STI was slightly reduced after adjusting for various sociodemographic characteristics (adjusted odds ratio: 1.5; 95% CI: 0.9-2.3; P=0.06).

Conclusions
The findings of present study suggest integrating alcohol risk reduction into STI/HIV prevention programmes.

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