In a cross-sectional study, Sheri Weiser and colleagues found that food insufficiency was an important risk factor for increased sexual risk-taking in women in Botswana and Swaziland

Alaimo

Ambrus

Beyrer

Blankenship

Boerma

Buseh

Campbell

David R Bangsberg

de Waal

Duffy

Dunkle

Ellsberg

Erulkar

Fields-Gardner

Fiona Percy-de Korte

Fritz

Garcia-Moreno

Gillespie

Greig

Hargreaves

Huber

Hyder

Kadiyala

Kalichman

Karen Leiter

Kerr

Kifleyesus

Koenig

Lagarde

Letamo

Lisa M Butler

Lurie

MacDonald

Marston

Michele Heisler

Mill

Mnyika

Moore

Nthabiseng Phaladze

Oyefara

Pettifor

Pronyk

Radimer

Rajaraman

Seume-Fosso

Sheri D Weiser

Simbayi

Singh

Sopheab

Stillwaggon

Stuart Gillespie

Vincent Iacopino

Weiser

White

Zakhe Hlanze

Zuma

PLoS Medicine

English

PubMed

Crossref

Food Insufficiency Is Associated with High-Risk Sexual Behavior among Women in Botswana and Swaziland

Both food insufficiency and HIV infection are major public health problems in sub-Saharan Africa, yet the impact of food insufficiency on HIV risk behavior has not been systematically investigated. We tested the hypothesis that food insufficiency is associated with HIV transmission behavior.We studied the association between food insufficiency (not having enough food to eat over the previous 12 months) and inconsistent condom use, sex exchange, and other measures of risky sex in a cross-sectional population-based study of 1,255 adults in Botswana and 796 adults in Swaziland using a stratified two-stage probability design. Associations were examined using multivariable logistic regression analyses, clustered by country and stratified by gender. Food insufficiency was reported by 32% of women and 22% of men over the previous 12 months. Among 1,050 women in both countries, after controlling for respondent characteristics including income and education, HIV knowledge, and alcohol use, food insufficiency was associated with inconsistent condom use with a nonprimary partner (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.73, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.27-2.36), sex exchange (AOR 1.84, 95% CI 1.74-1.93), intergenerational sexual relationships (AOR 1.46, 95% CI 1.03-2.08), and lack of control in sexual relationships (AOR 1.68, 95% CI 1.24-2.28). Associations between food insufficiency and risky sex were much attenuated among men.Food insufficiency is an important risk factor for increased sexual risk-taking among women in Botswana and Swaziland. Targeted food assistance and income generation programs in conjunction with efforts to enhance women's legal and social rights may play an important role in decreasing HIV transmission risk for women

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Food insufficiency is associated with high-risk sexual behavior among women in Botswana and Swaziland.

Both food insufficiency and HIV infection are major public health problems in sub-Saharan Africa, yet the impact of food insufficiency on HIV risk behavior has not been systematically investigated. We tested the hypothesis that food insufficiency is associated with HIV transmission behavior.We studied the association between food insufficiency (not having enough food to eat over the previous 12 months) and inconsistent condom use, sex exchange, and other measures of risky sex in a cross-sectional population-based study of 1,255 adults in Botswana and 796 adults in Swaziland using a stratified two-stage probability design. Associations were examined using multivariable logistic regression analyses, clustered by country and stratified by gender. Food insufficiency was reported by 32% of women and 22% of men over the previous 12 months. Among 1,050 women in both countries, after controlling for respondent characteristics including income and education, HIV knowledge, and alcohol use, food insufficiency was associated with inconsistent condom use with a nonprimary partner (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.73, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.27–2.36), sex exchange (AOR 1.84, 95% CI 1.74–1.93), intergenerational sexual relationships (AOR 1.46, 95% CI 1.03–2.08), and lack of control in sexual relationships (AOR 1.68, 95% CI 1.24–2.28). Associations between food insufficiency and risky sex were much attenuated among men.Food insufficiency is an important risk factor for increased sexual risk-taking among women in Botswana and Swaziland. Targeted food assistance and income generation programs in conjunction with efforts to enhance women's legal and social rights may play an important role in decreasing HIV transmission risk for women

Food Insufficiency Is Associated with High-Risk Sexual Behavior among Women in Botswana and Swaziland

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Public Library of Science (PLOS)