Food insecurity linked to reduced odds of condom use for women
in Brazil
Contact: Katie Hickling
press@plos.org
Public Library of Science
10-Apr-2012 - In this week's PLoS Medicine, Alexander Tsai of Harvard University, Cambridge, USA and colleagues show that in sexually active women in Brazil
severe food insecurity with hunger was positively associated with symptoms potentially indicative of sexually transmitted infection and
with reduced odds of condom use. The authors say: "Our findings suggest that interventions targeting food insecurity may have
beneficial implications for HIV prevention. Individual-level cognitive and/or behavioral interventions targeting HIV risk
avoidance or risk reduction behaviors are likely to be less than optimally effective if these structural factors are not
also taken into account."
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Funding: ACT receives salary support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholars Program. SDW receives salary
support from U.S. National Institute of Health K23 MH079713, the Hellman Family Foundation, and the Burke Family Foundation. The
funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing Interests: SDW has previously been affiliated with Physicians for Human Rights, an organization that advocates for the protection
of internationally guaranteed rights and/or prosecution of those who violate human rights. All authors have declared that no financial
conflicts of interest exist.
Citation: Tsai AC, Hung KJ, Weiser SD (2012) Is Food Insecurity Associated with HIV Risk? Cross-Sectional Evidence from Sexually Active
Women in Brazil. PLoS Med 9(4): e1001203. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001203
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-04/plos-fil041012.php
Contact:
Alex Tsai
Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholars Program
Harvard University
Cambridge
Massachusetts
United States of America
atsai@hsph.harvard.edu
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