HIV prevalence and risk factors in university students.

In Scotland during 1993-1994 4665 first and third year undergraduates newly registering postgraduates and nongraduating students at the University of Edinburgh completed a questionnaire. Based on responses the researchers categorized the students into four risk groups. One group consisted of men with male sex partners in the last year permanent home in Africa IV non-medically prescribed drug use ever shared needles or works ever paid or been paid money for sex professionally exposed to blood. The second group include those not in the first group but had more than 3 sex partners in the last year or persons with more than 2 sex partners in the last year and no condom use at last intercourse or sexual intercourse with a resident of Africa. Persons who were neither in the first two groups nor the fourth group comprised the third group. Persons who never had sex and were not in group one comprised group four. They submitted saliva tests to all students in the top two risk groups and to a random sample of those in the other groups for a total of 2041 students. The researchers aimed to determine HIV prevalence and risk factors. All five HIV seropositive students were from the highest risk group for an overall HIV prevalence rate of 1.2/1000. The HIV prevalence rate for those just in the highest risk group was 22/1000. Only one of these HIV seropositive students had been tested earlier for HIV. HIV infections were limited to persons with a permanent home in Africa IV drug use and male homosexual intercourse. All but one HIV seropositive individual were males. 73.7% of all respondents had ever engaged in sexual intercourse. IV drug use was rare (0.5% for men and 0.1% for women). 52% of respondents used a condom during last intercourse. Condom use was associated with short acquaintance of partners. The number of sexual partners in the last year did not affect condom use. These findings indicate that HIV transmission appears to be confined to high risk groups probably because most students did not practice risky behavior.