In 2008–2009, heterosexual sex partner places or venues were identified in Baltimore, MD using a venue-based study approach.
A total of 1334 participants aged 18 to 35 years were enrolled at 85 venues. In those participants, 39 potential core transmitters were identified and 31% of venues had at least one potential core transmitter. In final age-adjusted and gender-adjusted models, core transmitters were significantly more likely to be identified at drug markets (OR = 1.37; 95% CI = 1.23–1.53), sex markets (OR = 1.27; 95% CI = 1.14–1.41), and drug and/or sex markets (OR = 1.49; 95% CI = 1.32–1.68).
This study identified key characteristics of venues, such as drug and sex market activity, that may be important in identifying places for the targeted control of STI transmission.