Sexualized drug use (chemsex) Is associated with high-risk sexual behaviors and sexually transmitted infections in HIV-positive men who have sex with men: data from the U-SEX GESIDA 9416 study

The magnitude of sexualized drug use (SDU), also known as chemsex, and its association with sexually transmitted infections (STI) has not been systematically explored in HIV-positive patients. This study aimed to calculate the prevalence of SDU and associated factors in a sample of HIV-positive men...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: González Baeza, Alicia, Pérez-Valero, Ignacio, Cabello Úbeda, Alfonso, Téllez, María Jesús, Sanz, José, Pérez-Latorre, Leire, Bernardino, José Ignacio, Troya, Jesús, De La Fuente, Sara, Bisbal, Otilia, Santos, Ignacio, Hontañón Antoñana, Víctor, Casado, José Luis, Ryan, Pablo, Dolengevich-Segal, Helen, Arponen, Sari
Format: article
Publication Date:2018
Country:España
Institution:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repository:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/716793
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10486/716793
https://dx.doi.org/10.1089/apc.2017.0263
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:chemsex
high-risk sexual behaviors
human immunodeficiency virus
MSM
sexualized drug use
sexually transmitted infections
Psicología
Description
Summary:The magnitude of sexualized drug use (SDU), also known as chemsex, and its association with sexually transmitted infections (STI) has not been systematically explored in HIV-positive patients. This study aimed to calculate the prevalence of SDU and associated factors in a sample of HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) in Spain. We calculated the frequency of SDU in a sample of HIV-positive MSM who responded to an anonymous online survey on sexual behavior and recreational drug use. We also analyzed differences between those who responded and those who did not (data taken from the physician's registry). The association between SDU, sexual risk behaviors, and STI was evaluated using a univariate and a multivariate analysis. Data were collected and managed using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap). The survey was completed by 742 HIV-positive MSM, of whom 60% had had unprotected anal intercourse (UAI), 62% had been diagnosed with a STI, and 216 (29.1%) reported recent SDU (slamsex in 16% of cases). In the multivariate analysis, patients who engaged in SDU were more likely to have had high-risk sexual behaviors and a diagnosis of STI than participants who did not engage in SDU. A diagnosis of hepatitis C was independently associated with slamsex (5.2 [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.06-13.13]; p < 0.001), chemsex (2.51 [95% CI, 1.28-4.91]; p = 0.007), and UAI (1.82 [95% CI, 0.90-3.70]; p = 0.094). The magnitude of SDU or chemsex in our sample is relatively high. We found a clear association between SDU, high-risk sexual behaviors, and STI including hepatitis C