{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T20:42:29Z","timestamp":1777927349317,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,26]],"date-time":"2021-03-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1616716800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Int J STD AIDS"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Tajikistan, a country of approximately nine million people, has a relatively small but quickly growing HIV epidemic. No peer-reviewed study has assessed factors associated with HIV, or associated risk factors, among female sex workers (FSWs) in Tajikistan. The purpose of the current study is to elucidate the factors associated with HIV status and risk factors in the Tajikistani context and add to the scant literature on risk factors among FSWs in Tajikistan and Central Asia. We used cross-sectional data from an HIV bio-behavioral survey (BBS) conducted among FSWs in the Republic of Tajikistan ( n = 2174) in 2017. Using Respondent Driven Sampling Analysis Tool software, we calculated the prevalence of HIV, diagnosed cases, linkage to antiretroviral therapy (ART), and the prevalence of syphilis for FSWs in Tajikistan. Prevalence data were adjusted for network size and any clustering effects in the network. Further, using univariate and multivariable logistic regression, we determined correlates of HIV-positive status. Results were as follows: Of all FSWs in Tajikistan, 2.6% (95% CI: 1.7\u20133.8%) are HIV positive, 2.3% (95% CI: 1.4\u20133.5%) are diagnosed and aware of their status, and 2.0% (95% CI: 1.2\u20133.1%) are on ART. About 5.7% (95% CI: 4.5\u20137.4%) of FSWs in Tajikistan have ever had syphilis, and 0.8% (95% CI: 0.4\u20131.3%) have active syphilis infections. The epidemic of injection drug use was found to be strongly synergistic with HIV infection as having had sex with a person who injects drugs was shown to be strongly associated with HIV-positive status (OR: 5.2; 95% CI: 2.6\u201310.2) in the multivariable model. While this study estimates that HIV prevalence among Tajikistani FSWs is relatively low, it is likely an underestimated due to selection and social desirability biases. To curb the small, but potentially volatile, HIV epidemic among FSWs, the government should consider targeted testing and linkage-to-care efforts for FSWs who inject drugs or who have people who inject drugs partners. Services should also be prioritized in Gorno-Badakhshan, which has a higher number of FSWs per capita relative to other regions. Additionally, the link between HIV and experiences of stigma, violence, and discrimination against FSWs should motivate advocates to protect Tajikistani FSWs from these experiences.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/0956462420984696","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,26]],"date-time":"2021-03-26T12:08:43Z","timestamp":1616760523000},"page":"678-686","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["HIV and associated factors among female sex workers in Tajikistan: Analysis from a national bio-behavioral survey"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"32","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3302-6245","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arash","family":"Alaei","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for International Health and Education, Albany, NY, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Daniel J","family":"Bromberg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA"},{"name":"Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mary M","family":"Tate","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Saifuddin","family":"Karimov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Republican AIDS Centre, Tajikistan Ministry of Health, Dushanbe, Tajikistan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dilshod","family":"Saidi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Republican AIDS Centre, Tajikistan Ministry of Health, Dushanbe, Tajikistan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kamiar","family":"Alaei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for International Health and Education, Albany, NY, USA"},{"name":"Department of Health Science, California State University Long Beach, CA, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-0956462420984696","volume-title":"Global AIDS Monitoring 2020: Indicators for Monitoring the 2016 Political Declaration on Ending AIDS","author":"UNAIDS"},{"key":"bibr2-0956462420984696","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0105645"},{"key":"bibr3-0956462420984696","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/oemed-2019-106396"},{"key":"bibr4-0956462420984696","unstructured":"AVERT. HIV and AIDS in eastern Europe & central Asia overview. https:\/\/www.avert.org\/hiv-and-aids-eastern-europe-central-asia-overview#footnote1_jrqkhwx (2017, accessed 12 May 2019)."},{"key":"bibr5-0956462420984696","volume-title":"World Bank development indicators","author":"World Bank","year":"2013"},{"key":"bibr6-0956462420984696","volume-title":"World's Oldest Profession up for Discussion in Tajikistan","author":"Najibullah F","year":"2014"},{"key":"bibr7-0956462420984696","volume-title":"Country Factsheets: Tajikistan","author":"UNAIDS","year":"2019"},{"key":"bibr8-0956462420984696","volume-title":"Map of sex work law","author":"Institute of Development Studies","year":"2017"},{"key":"bibr9-0956462420984696","volume-title":"Clampdown on Sex Industry in Tajikistan","author":"Tursunzoda M","year":"2015"},{"key":"bibr10-0956462420984696","unstructured":"Tajik Vloggers Go on Trial over Secret Filming of Sex Workers. 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