Original research article Partnership duration and HIV serodisclosure among people living with HIV/AIDS in Lilongwe, Malawi Tinkhani H Mbichila 1 , Maganizo Chagomerana 1 , Jennifer H Tang 1,2 , Lisa B Haddad 3 , Mina C Hosseinipour 1,4 , Hannock Tweya 5 and Samuel Phiri 4,5,6,7 Abstract HIV serodisclosure to sexual partners is an important aspect of HIV prevention, treatment, and care. We investigated the association between partnership duration and serodisclosure among HIV-infected individuals in Lilongwe, Malawi. We analyzed data from a cross-sectional study of individuals attending one of two antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinics in Lilongwe. Clients aged 18–45 years and sexually active within the past six months were eligible. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the association between partnership duration 1 year and serodisclosure. Five hundred and sixty-two participants completed the survey: 308 (55%) women and 254 (45%) men. Median age was 35 years (IQR 30–40), 90% were married, 88% were on ART, and 95% had serodisclosed to their partner. Marital status, knowledge of partner serostatus, and ART use were significantly associated with serodi- sclosure. Participants in a relationship for 1 year were significantly less likely to disclose their serostatus to their partners compared to those in a relationship for >1 year (OR ¼ 0.18, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.58). Couple-based interventions that encourage serodisclosure among partners within their first year of relationship should be developed to decrease HIV transmission, encourage treatment and support. Keywords AIDS, antiretroviral therapy, HIV, prevention Date received: 13 December 2017; accepted: 15 March 2018 Introduction HIV serodisclosure to sexual partners is an important aspect of HIV prevention, treatment, and linkage to care. As an HIV prevention strategy, serodisclosure to sexual partners allows couples to make informed choices that can reduce the risk of HIV transmis- sion 1–4 such as using condoms, male circumcision, and antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment as preven- tion. When seropositive status is disclosed to primary partners, the HIV-infected partners may also be encouraged to disclose their status to other relatives and friends, who in return can provide the emotional, psychosocial, and economic support necessary for coping with the lifelong diagnosis of HIV and accessing relevant health services. 5 Although serodisclosure to sexual partners is perhaps the most important form 1 The University of North Carolina Project-Lilongwe, Lilongwe, Malawi 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA 3 Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA 4 Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA 5 Lighthouse Trust, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi 6 Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Malawi, Blantyre, Malawi 7 Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA Corresponding author: Tinkhani H Mbichila, University of North Carolina Project, Private Bag A104, Lilongwe, Malawi. Email: tmbichila@unclilongwe.org International Journal of STD & AIDS 0(0) 1–7 ! The Author(s) 2018 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0956462418769730 journals.sagepub.com/home/std