Substance-abusing men place wives at high risk.

2003 JUN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Substance-abusing men who engage in behavior that puts them at high risk for direct exposure to HIV are likely to put their wives at high risk for indirect HIV exposure through unprotected sexual intercourse with their spouses, according to a study at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA).

In most cases, wives in the study were not having sex out of their marriage, were unaware of their husband's high-risk behavior and did not know that they, in turn, were being placed at high risk.

The study, involving 362 drug-abusing men entering outpatient treatment and their wives, found that 40% - or 144 - of the husbands had during the year prior to entering treatment engaged in unprotected penetrative sexual intercourse with a person other than their spouse or engaged in risky needle practices, such as using a used syringe.

With all but six of the wives in the subgroup reporting that they had sexual intercourse with their spouse during the same time period, 78% - or 108 - of the wives reported that condoms were not used regularly when they had intercourse with their husband. Seventy-one percent - or 77 - of the 108 wives reported they were not aware of their husbands' high-risk behaviors. Thirty-one wives were aware of their husbands' high-risk behaviors, but still engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse with them.

Results of the study were reported in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

William Fals-Stewart, PhD, lead researcher on the study, said it identifies a "hidden" at-risk group - non-substance-abusing women indirectly and unknowingly exposed to HIV, sexually transmitted disease and hepatitis by having unprotected sexual intercourse with their husbands.

"This population is under-recognized as being at risk," said Fals-Stewart, a clinical psychologist who is a senior research scientist at RIA and research associate professor in the department of psychology in the UB College of Arts and Sciences.