Hombres jóvenes que tienen sexo con hombres: ？un colectivo en alto riesgo para la infección por el VIH?

objectives: to compare variables associated with the risk of hiv among men <25 years old who have sex with men (ymsm) and those >25 years old, and to determine the variables associated with unprotected anal intercourse (uai) in ymsm with casual sexual partners. method: for 1 month, 485 participants <25 years old and 1,470 aged >25 years old completed a pen-and-paper survey carried out in gay venues (gv) or via the internet in madrid, barcelona, bilbao and san sebastián (spain). the survey investigated sexual behaviors in the past 3 months according to whether the men met sexual partners in gv (spgv) or on the internet (spi). results: no significant differences were found between ymsm and those >25 years old with respect to uai with spgv (23% vs. 30%, p>0.05) and spi (29% vs. 30%, p>0.05), condom use in the last anal intercourse and having had a sexually-transmitted infection (sti) in the last year (19% vs. 23%, p>0.05). however, respondents>25 years old had a higher average number of spgv (9.2 vs. 7, p<0.05) and spi (8.9 vs. 6.4, p<0.05), were more likely to have used drugs while having uai (68% vs. 55%, p<0.05, with spi, and 73% vs. 55%, p<0.05, with spgv) and had a higher prevalence of hiv (11% vs. 4%, p<0.05). when exploring other variables, we found that ymsm more frequently had receptive uai with spi (73% vs. 57%, p<0.05), had less time to be in a stable relationship, and their sexual partner more frequently convinced them to have uai (8% vs. 0%, p<0.05). in multivariate analysis, uai in ymsm with casual sexual partners was not associated with any of the variables. conclusions: ymsm do not constitute a group at increased risk of hiv/sti infection compared with respondents >25 years old. however, there are some variables could contribute to vulnerability in this group.