The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Partner age-disparity and HIV incidence risk for older women in rural South Africa

Partner age-disparity and HIV incidence risk for older women in rural South Africa
Partner age-disparity and HIV incidence risk for older women in rural South Africa
While sexual partner age disparity is frequently considered as a potential risk factor for HIV among young women in Africa, no research has addressed this question among older women. Our aim was thus to determine whether sex partner age disparity was associated with subsequent HIV acquisition in women over 30 years of age. To achieve this aim we conducted a quantitative analysis of a population-based, open cohort of women in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (n = 1,737) using Cox proportional hazards models. As partner age rose, HIV acquisition risk fell significantly: compared to a same-aged partner, a 5-year older partner was associated with a one-third reduction [hazard ratio (HR) 0.63, 95 % CI 0.52–0.76] and a 10-year older partner with a one-half reduction (HR 0.48, 95 % CI 0.35–0.67) in acquisition risk. This result was neither confounded nor effect-modified by women’s age or socio-demographic factors. These findings suggest that existing HIV risk-reduction campaigns warning young women about partnering with older men may be inappropriate for older women. HIV prevention strategies interventions specifically tailored to older women are needed
1090-7165
1317-1326
Harling, G.
fe8080e9-7dc5-4ac8-ad19-e05e15d9a035
Newell, M.L.
c6ff99dd-c23b-4fef-a846-a221fe2522b3
Tanser, F.
b4ce79a2-0bf2-4021-89ad-0e759e2e2fc8
Barnighausen, T.
f849cc9c-3d71-4ef2-a722-200cac903716
Harling, G.
fe8080e9-7dc5-4ac8-ad19-e05e15d9a035
Newell, M.L.
c6ff99dd-c23b-4fef-a846-a221fe2522b3
Tanser, F.
b4ce79a2-0bf2-4021-89ad-0e759e2e2fc8
Barnighausen, T.
f849cc9c-3d71-4ef2-a722-200cac903716

Harling, G., Newell, M.L., Tanser, F. and Barnighausen, T. (2015) Partner age-disparity and HIV incidence risk for older women in rural South Africa. AIDS and Behavior, 19 (7), 1317-1326. (doi:10.1007/s10461-014-0952-3).

Record type: Article

Abstract

While sexual partner age disparity is frequently considered as a potential risk factor for HIV among young women in Africa, no research has addressed this question among older women. Our aim was thus to determine whether sex partner age disparity was associated with subsequent HIV acquisition in women over 30 years of age. To achieve this aim we conducted a quantitative analysis of a population-based, open cohort of women in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (n = 1,737) using Cox proportional hazards models. As partner age rose, HIV acquisition risk fell significantly: compared to a same-aged partner, a 5-year older partner was associated with a one-third reduction [hazard ratio (HR) 0.63, 95 % CI 0.52–0.76] and a 10-year older partner with a one-half reduction (HR 0.48, 95 % CI 0.35–0.67) in acquisition risk. This result was neither confounded nor effect-modified by women’s age or socio-demographic factors. These findings suggest that existing HIV risk-reduction campaigns warning young women about partnering with older men may be inappropriate for older women. HIV prevention strategies interventions specifically tailored to older women are needed

Text
2015 Harling Partner age disparity and HIV incidence older women AIDS and Behavior .pdf - Version of Record
Restricted to Repository staff only
Request a copy

More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 11 February 2015
Published date: July 2015
Organisations: Faculty of Medicine

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 379611
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/379611
ISSN: 1090-7165
PURE UUID: b39f0a6f-a6eb-4d89-83ec-0cc2bab3f456
ORCID for M.L. Newell: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-1074-7699

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 06 Aug 2015 10:25
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:47

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: G. Harling
Author: M.L. Newell ORCID iD
Author: F. Tanser
Author: T. Barnighausen

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×