Table 2.
Characteristics of 1781 sexual partners and partnerships of 577 men who have sex with men, by means of how the participant established the partnership, Amsterdam, 2008-9
| Total | Online acquired partnerships | Offline acquired partnerships | P valueb | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n(%)e | n(%)e | n(%)e | n(%)e | |
| N | 1781 | 878 | 903 | |
| Demographicsa | ||||
| Median age of partner in years (IQR) | 34 (28–40) | 34 (28–40) | 34 (28–39) | 0.546 |
| Age of partner in years categorised | 0.148 | |||
| < 30 | 540 (30.5 %) | 275 (31.5 %) | 265 (29.6 %) | |
| 30–34 | 371 (21.0 %) | 174 (19.9 %) | 197 (22.0 %) | |
| 35–39 | 392 (22.2 %) | 179 (20.5 %) | 213 (23.8 %) | |
| ≥ 40 | 466 (26.3 %) | 246 (28.2 %) | 220 (24.6 %) | |
| Median age difference in years participant - partner (IQR)c | 4 (−2 to 10) | 3 (−3 to 10) | 4 (−2 to 10) | 0.013 |
| Age difference participant - partner, categorised | 0.137 | |||
| Partner >5 years older than participant | 279 (15.8 %) | 151 (17.3 %) | 128 (14.3 %) | |
| Partner and participant differ ≤5 years | 767 (43.4 %) | 375 (42.9 %) | 392 (43.8 %) | |
| Partner is >5 years younger than participant | 723 (40.9 %) | 348 (39.8 %) | 375 (41.9 %) | |
| Ethnic group partner | <0.001 | |||
| Dutch | 974 (57.6 %) | 520 (61.3 %) | 454 (54.0 %) | |
| Western, non-Dutch | 323 (19.1 %) | 127 (15.0 %) | 196 (23.3 %) | |
| Non-western | 393 (23.3 %) | 202 (23.8 %) | 191 (22.7 %) | |
| Concordance between ethnic group of participant - partner | 0.025 | |||
| Concordant ethnicity | 767 (43.1 %) | 399 (45.4 %) | 368 (40.8 %) | |
| Different ethnicity | 1014 (56.9 %) | 479 (54.6 %) | 535 (59.3 %) | |
| Concordance in life styles participant - partner | 0.353 | |||
| No difference in life styles | 703 (39.5 %) | 338 (38.5 %) | 365 (40.4 %) | |
| Differences in life styles | 1078 (60.5 %) | 540 (61.5 %) | 538 (59.6 %) | |
| HIV status partner | ||||
| Perceived HIV status of partner | <0.001 | |||
| HIV-negative | 715 (40.2 %) | 388 (44.2 %) | 327 (36.2 %) | |
| HIV-positive | 270 (15.2 %) | 151 (17.2 %) | 119 (13.2 %) | |
| Unaware | 796 (44.7 %) | 339 (38.6 %) | 457 (50.6 %) | |
| Perceived HIV concordance participant - partner | <0.001 | |||
| Same HIV status | 789 (44.3 %) | 430 (49.0 %) | 359 (39.8 %) | |
| Different HIV status | 135 (7.6 %) | 72 (8.2 %) | 63 (7.0 %) | |
| HIV status of participant or partner unknown | 857 (48.1 %) | 376 (42.8 %) | 481 (53.3 %) | |
| Does partner know HIV status of participant? | <0.001 | |||
| No | 201 (11.3 %) | 101 (11.5 %) | 100 (11.1 %) | |
| Yes | 585 (32.9 %) | 340 (38.8 %) | 245 (27.2 %) | |
| Possibly | 993 (55.8 %) | 436 (49.7 %) | 557 (61.8 %) | |
| Sexual behaviour | ||||
| Partnership type | <0.001 | |||
| Known partner | 1137 (65.9 %) | 661 (77.7 %) | 476 (54.4 %) | |
| Anonymous partner | 589 (34.1 %) | 190 (22.3 %) | 399 (45.6 %) | |
| Sex frequency with partnerd | <0.001 | |||
| Once | 961 (54.0 %) | 431 (49.1 %) | 530 (58.7 %) | |
| 2–5 times | 624 (35.1 %) | 344 (39.2 %) | 280 (31.0 %) | |
| 5–10 times | 129 (7.3 %) | 74 (8.4 %) | 55 (6.1 %) | |
| > 10 times | 66 (3.7 %) | 28 (3.2 %) | 38 (4.2 %) | |
| UAI | 0.082 | |||
| No | 1339 (75.2 %) | 646 (73.6 %) | 693 (76.7 %) | |
| Yes | 442 (24.8 %) | 232 (26.4 %) | 210 (23.3 %) | |
| Group sex with partner | 0.003 | |||
| No | 1518 (85.3 %) | 771 (87.9 %) | 747 (82.7 %) | |
| Yes | 262 (14.5 %) | 106 (12.1 %) | 156 (17.3 %) | |
| Paid sex with partner | 0.055 | |||
| No | 1723 (96.9 %) | 841 (96.0 %) | 882 (97.7 %) | |
| Yes | 56 (3.2 %) | 35 (4.0 %) | 21 (2.3 %) | |
| Sex-related substance use in partnership | ||||
| Any sex-related substance use | <0.001 | |||
| No | 633 (35.5 %) | 344 (39.2 %) | 289 (32.0 %) | |
| Yes | 1148 (64.5 %) | 534 (60.8 %) | 614 (68.0 %) | |
| Sex-related alcohol use | <0.001 | |||
| No | 1143 (64.2 %) | 627 (71.4 %) | 516 (57.1 %) | |
| Yes | 638 (35.8 %) | 251 (28.6 %) | 387 (42.9 %) | |
| Sex-related use of 2 or more substances other than alcohol | 0.576 | |||
| No | 1467 (82.4 %) | 719 (82.0 %) | 748 (82.8 %) | |
| Yes | 313 (17.6 %) | 158 (18.0 %) | 155 (17.2 %) |
Abbreviations: UAI unprotected anal intercourse, IQR interquartile range, MSM men who have sex with men
aData were missing for partner’s age: online (4), offline (8); age difference: online (4), offline (8); partner’s ethnicity: online (29), offline (62); partnership type: online (27), offline (28); whether partner knows HIV status of participant: online (1), offline (1); sex frequency with partner: online (1); group sex: online (1); paid sex: online (2); use of 2 or more drugs during sex: online (1)
bP was calculated using logistic regression accounting for clustered observations
cAge difference was calculated by subtracting the age of the partner from the age of the participant
dThe questionnaire stated overlapping categories
eUnless specified otherwise