Perception of primary male sexual partners’ characteristics and women’s history of sexually transmissible infections in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Abstract

Background Evidence regarding whether male partners’ characteristics can influence women’s likelihood of getting sexually transmissible infections (STIs) is insufficient and inconsistent. Our study examined associations between women’s perception of primary male partners’ demographic and behavioural characteristics and women’s history of bacterial STI diagnoses among 126 women at risk for STIs in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Methods: All variables were obtained by women’s self-report. Due to the excess zeroes of the number of bacterial STI diagnoses for women, we used Zero-Inflated Poisson regression to examine associations of interest. Results: Among women who had one lifetime male partner (n = 49), the partner’s number of female sexual partners [prevalence ratio (PR) = 4.63, 95%CI = 1.44–14.88] and number of STI diagnoses (PR = 27.32, 95%CI = 1.56–477.70) were associated with the woman’s number of bacterial STI diagnoses, after adjusting for women’s education level. For women who had >1 lifetime male partner (n = 77), a greater number of women’s bacterial STI diagnoses was also associated with their partners’ STI history (PR = 9.12, 95% CI = 2.44–34.11). Conclusions: An increased risk for STIs in women was associated with both individual characteristics and their primary male partner’s behavioural risk factors. Therefore, primary male partners’ risk factors should be included in STI risk assessments, treatment and interventions for women.