Sex with animals among men attended in referral centers for sexually transmitted infections in northeast Brazil: prevalence, associated factors and behavioral aspects

Abstract

Purpose: Our objective was to investigate the prevalence of SWA, associated factors, relationship with STIs, and behavioral aspects in men attended at Referral Centers for STIs and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)/CR-STI/AIDS in northeast Brazil. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire with sociodemographic, clinical, sexual and SWA practices information was applied to 400 men attended at two CR-STI/AIDS in Northeast Brazil on the years of 2018 and 2019. Clinical and laboratory diagnoses of STIs were confirmed in medical records. Logistic regression models were performed to identify the independent predictors for SWA. Results: The prevalence of SWA over total samples was 15.00%. Of the participants, 239 (59.75%) of the participants were diagnosed with STIs, and of these 37 (15.48%) reported SWA. Most men practiced SWA in adolescence, being the last episode more than 20 years ago, usually with asinine and mules, in vaginal route and without a condom. SWA practitioners have higher percentages of occurrence of some viral STIs. SWA was associated with increasing age, history of residence in a rural area with remained over 12 years, married or widowed/separated, heterosexuals, with less than 7 years of study, Catholics, with hepatitis B, former user of alcoholic beverages and smokers, with a history of STI and intercourse with sex workers. Conclusion: SWA practices increase STIs vulnerability. The association between hepatitis B and SWA highlights the importance of educational campaigns and conclusive studies on the topic.