Changes in the Lubricant Use Patterns among Men who have Sex with Men (MSM): Findings from Two Rounds of Bio-behavioural Surveys in three Indian States

We examined the type of lubricants, and extent of lubricant use among men who have sex with men (MSM) in India using data from two rounds of cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2005-07 (Round 1, R1) and 2009-10 (Round 2, R2) as part of evaluation of a large-scale HIV prevention program in three Indian states. In both rounds, MSM were recruited from cruising sites using time-location cluster sampling. We used binary logistic regression to assess the association between lubricant use and socio-demographic and programmatic indicators. 7,775 HR-MSM were interviewed in both rounds (R1-3,895, R2-3,880). The profile of the respondents was almost similar in both rounds. More than half reported using lubricants in both rounds (R1-54%, R2-64%). Use of water-based lubricants (R1-35%, R2-58%) was higher than oil-based lubricants (R1-45%, R2-41%) in R2 and a high proportion of MSM in both rounds (R1-64%, R2-77%) were exposed to any HIV prevention interventions. Characteristics associated with increased odds for lubricant use were exposure to any HIV prevention interventions (AOR- 3.23, CI: 2.73, 3.82). Similarly, kothi-identified MSM had higher odds for lubricant use in both rounds. The national HIV program needs to promote use of water-based lubricants and distribute free lubricants, which could significantly decrease HIV risk among MSM.