Seroprevalence of and Risk Factors for Hepatitis A Infection among Young Homosexual and Bisexual Men

Abstract
To evaluate hepatitis A infection among young homosexual and bisexual men, 411 men aged 17–22 years were surveyed at 26 public venues in San Francisco and Berkeley. Seroprevalence of hepatitis A infection was 28.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 23.7%–32.6%). Recent infection was evident in 3.3% of susceptible men (95% CI, 1.6%–5.9%). Independent predictors of hepatitis A infection were Latino ethnicity (odds ratio [OR] = 5.3; 95% CI, 3.1–8.9), having ≥50 lifetime male sex partners (OR = 1.8; 95% CI, 1.1–3.0), less than high school education (OR = 2.2; 95% CI, 1.2–4.1), and being a high school graduate (OR = 1.7; 95% CI, 1.0–2.9). Independent predictors of recent infection were less than high school graduate (OR = 7.6; 95% CI, 1.9–30.5), insertive anal intercourse (OR = 5.6; 95% CI, 1.0–32.8), and sharing needles without cleaning them (OR = 32.1; 95% CI, 3.0–346). Hepatitis A is a common infection in young homosexual men and is associated with sexual and drug-using behaviors.

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