Risky Sexual Behavior, Bleeding Caused by Intimate Partner Violence, and Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Patients of a Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic

Abstract

Objectives. We sought to investigate independent contributions of risky sexual behaviors and bleeding caused by intimate partner violence to prediction of HCV infection. Methods. We conducted a case–control study of risk factors among patients of a sexually transmitted disease clinic with and without HCV antibodies, group-matched by age. Results. Multivariate analyses indicated that Black race (odds ratio [OR] = 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.3, 4.4), injection drug use (OR = 20.3; 95% CI = 10.8, 37.8), sharing straws to snort drugs (OR = 1.8; 95% CI = 1.01, 3.0), sharing razors (OR = 7.8; 95% CI = 2.0, 31.0), and exposure to bleeding caused by intimate partner violence (OR = 5.5; 95% CI = 1.4, 22.8) contributed significantly to the prediction of HCV infection; risky sexual behavior and exposure to blood or sores during sexual intercourse did not. Conclusions. HCV risk among patients of a sexually transmitted disease clinic can be explained by direct blood exposure, primarily through injection drug use. Exposure to bleeding caused by intimate partner violence may be a previously unrecognized mechanism for HCV transmission associated with risky sexual behavior.