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The Difference in Self-Reported and Biological Measured HIV Prevalence: Implications for HIV Prevention

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Abstract

In Australia, HIV prevalence estimates among gay men have been mainly based on self-reported HIV status collected in annual behavioural surveys. We measured biological HIV prevalence among gay men in Melbourne, Australia, using a facility based sampling method. We calculated HIV prevalence and used logistic regression to assess correlates of a positive HIV test. A total of 639 gay men were recruited completed a survey and provided oral fluid for HIV testing from seven venues in 2008. The median age of the participants was 35 years (range 18–75 years). Overall biological HIV prevalence was 9.5% (95% CI 7.5–12.0%) compared with 6.3% (95% CI 4.5–8.4%) for self-reported HIV positive status. We found a significant discrepancy between test detected biological and self-report HIV status in our study, with 19 men (31.1%) unaware of their HIV infection. These results highlight the importance of repeatable biological estimates to inform and evaluate HIV prevention strategies.

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Acknowledgments

The following co-authors have contributed to the work, Dr Kim Wilson in study design, laboratory work and manuscript conception; Dr Rebecca Guy in study design, manuscript preparation and manuscript review; Dr Margaret Hellard in study design, manuscript conception and review and Dr Mark Stoove in study design, manuscript conception, manuscript preparation and review. We acknowledge the assistance of Sue Best from the National Serology Reference Laboratory with planning and providing assistance with the testing protocol. We also would like to acknowledge the help of the project advisory committee, particularly that of Garrett Prestage for guiding the planning and implementation of the study. Alisa Pedrana receives funding from the Australia Government through a National Health and Medical Research Council (NH&MRC) Public Health Postgraduate Scholarship and the Sidney Myer Health Scholarship. Margaret Hellard receives funding from the NH & MRC as a senior research fellow. Rebecca Guy receives funding from the NH & MRC as a post doctoral fellow. The authors gratefully acknowledge Victorian Department of Health for providing funds to support this study and the contribution to this work of the Victorian Operational Infrastructure Support Program. This project was funded by the Victorian Department of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, GPO Box 2284, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia

    Alisa E. Pedrana, Margaret E. Hellard & Mark Stoove

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Alisa E. Pedrana, Margaret E. Hellard & Mark Stoove

  3. The Nossal Institute for Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Margaret E. Hellard

  4. Faculty of Medicine, National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Rebecca Guy

  5. National Serology Reference Laboratory, Melbourne, Australia

    Kim Wilson

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  1. Alisa E. Pedrana
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  2. Margaret E. Hellard
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Correspondence to Alisa E. Pedrana.

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Pedrana, A.E., Hellard, M.E., Guy, R. et al. The Difference in Self-Reported and Biological Measured HIV Prevalence: Implications for HIV Prevention. AIDS Behav 16, 1454–1463 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-011-0116-7

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