Dataset Information

Factors associated with disclosing men who have sex with men (MSM) sexual behaviors and HIV-positive status: A study based on a social network analysis in Nanjing, China.

ABSTRACT: We explored the factors associated with disclosure of men who have with sex with men (MSM) behaviors and HIV-positive status among HIV-positive MSM in Nanjing, China.Social network analysis and epidemiological methods were combined in this pilot study. Information about participants' (egos') characteristics and behaviors and their social network members (alters) were collected through interview-administered questionnaires. General estimating equation logistic regression analysis was applied in both univariate and multivariate analysis.Eighty-seven HIV-positive MSM participated. Their mean age was 35.9 ±13.81years. They were more likely to disclose their MSM behavior to their friends [adjust Odds Ratio (AOR) = 6.43, 95% confidence interval (CI):3.08-13.42] or to the social network members who were not heterosexual [AOR = 4.40, 95%CI: 2.17-8.91]. Being participants' friends [AOR = 5.16, 95%CI: 2.03-13.10] or family members [AOR = 6.22, 95%CI: 2.52-15.33] was significantly associated with HIV-positive status disclosure.HIV-positive MSM tended to disclose their MSM behaviors and HIV positive status to close friends, family members or other individuals who were HIV-positive, engaging in MSM behavior, or both. Consequently, it will be an effective way to implement HIV prevention and intervention strategies in both MSM population and their trusted social networks.

SUBMITTER: Chen L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5908074 | biostudies-other | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Factors associated with disclosing men who have sex with men (MSM) sexual behaviors and HIV-positive status: A study based on a social network analysis in Nanjing, China.

Chen Lusi L Lian Dashuai D Wang Bei B

PloS one 20180419 4

<h4>Objective</h4>We explored the factors associated with disclosure of men who have with sex with men (MSM) behaviors and HIV-positive status among HIV-positive MSM in Nanjing, China.<h4>Methods</h4>Social network analysis and epidemiological methods were combined in this pilot study. Information about participants' (egos') characteristics and behaviors and their social network members (alters) were collected through interview-administered questionnaires. General estimating equation logistic re ...[more]

PMID: 29672596

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Project description:BackgroundChildhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a significant global public health problem, which is associated with negative psychosocial outcomes and high-risk sexual behaviors in adults. Men who have sex with men (MSM) often report higher prevalence of CSA history than the general population, and CSA may play a key role in MSM's greater vulnerability to HIV.MethodsThis study examined the prevalence of CSA history and its impact on the number of recent HIV-related risk behaviors (unprotected anal intercourse, high number of male and female sexual partners, alcohol use, drug use, and sex work in prior 6 months) and lifetime risk behaviors and experiences (high number of lifetime male and female sexual partners, early sexual debut, injection drug use, sex work, and intimate partner violence) among 11,788 adult MSM recruited via respondent driven sampling across 12 sites in India, with additional insights from thematic analysis of qualitative research with 363 MSM from 15 sites.ResultsNearly a quarter (22.4 %) of participants experienced CSA, with substantially higher prevalence of CSA in the South and among kothis (feminine sexual identity). Qualitative findings revealed that older, trusted men may target young and, especially, gender nonconforming boys, and perpetrators' social position facilitates nondisclosure. CSA may also initiate further same-sex encounters, including sex work. In multivariable analysis, MSM who experienced CSA had 21 % higher rate of recent (adjusted rate ratio [aRR = 1.21], 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.14-1.28), and 2.0 times higher lifetime (aRR = 2.04, 95 % CI: 1.75-2.38) HIV-related behaviors/experiences compared with those who did not.ConclusionThis large, mixed-methods study found high overall prevalence of CSA among MSM (22.4 %), with substantially higher prevalence among MSM residing in the South and among more feminine sexual identities. Qualitative findings highlighted boys' vulnerabilities to CSA, especially gender nonconformity, and CSA's role in further sexual encounters, including sex work. Additionally, CSA was associated with an elevated rate of recent, and an even higher rate of lifetime HIV-related risk factors. Our results suggest an acute need for the development of CSA prevention interventions and the integration of mental health services for MSM with histories of CSA as part of HIV-prevention efforts.

Project description:BackgroundHIV prevalence is increasing at a concerning rate among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. Numerous studies have reported on levels of behaviors of Chinese MSM for different types of sexual partnerships, such as regular, non-commercial casual and commercial. This study aims to investigate the trends HIV incidence rates in relation to their risk sexual behaviors and partnership types among Chinese MSM.MethodThrough a comprehensive literature research from available English and Chinese literature databases, we collated relevant information of sexual behaviors of Chinese MSM. Further, with the utilization of a mathematical optimization approach, this study reconciles the distributions of sexual behavioral data over the last decade and infers the heterogeneous distributions of behavioral patterns among Chinese MSM. Distributions of high-risk behavioural indicators, including the number of sexual partners, number of sexual acts and condom usage in the past 6 months, are calibrated to available empirical data. Based on the resultant temporal trends in these distributions, the trends in HIV incidence rates associated with each type of partnership among MSM in China are also estimated.ResultsA total of 55 qualified articles have been identified. An average MSM has approximately 0.96 (95% CI, 0.59-1.18) regular, 3.75 (1.72-6.25) casual and 1.61 (0.97-2.78) commercial partners over a 6 month period and 4.33 (2.81-6.46), 1.42 (0.62-3.08), 1.48 (0.79-3.30) sexual acts per partnership respectively, corresponding to a total of 11.87 (8.87-15.25) acts. Condom usage has increased significantly during 2002-2010, at annual increases of 3.58% (2.98-4.12%), 5.55% (4.55-6.54%), and 5.03% (4.19-5.74%) for regular, casual and commercial partners respectively. These behavioral data implies an increase in HIV incidence of approximately 3.3-fold, from 2.04 (1.96-2.12) to 7.02 (6.71-7.35) per 1000 person-years during the same period. The proportion of new infections attributed to regular partnerships increased from 34% to 40%, whereas infections attributed to commercial partnerships reduced from 29% to 23% during 2002-2010.ConclusionRegular partnerships are the main contributor of new HIV cases among MSM in China, public health intervention strategies are required to increase condom usage and HIV testing rates among regular partners to curb the growing trend HIV incidence.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Affective states, including sentiment and emotion, are critical determinants of health. However, few studies among men who have sex with men (MSM) have examined sentiment and emotion specifically using real-time social media technologies. Moreover, the explorations on their associations with sexual and health status among MSM are limited. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to understand and examine the associations of affective states with sexual behaviors and health status among MSM using public data from the Blued (Blued International Inc) app. METHODS:A total of 843,745 public postings of 377,610 MSM users located in Guangdong were saved from the Blued app by automatic screen capture. Positive affect, negative affect, sexual behaviors, and health status were measured using the Simplified Chinese Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count. Emotions, including joy, sadness, anger, fear, and disgust, were measured using the Weibo Basic Mood Lexicon. A positive sentiment score and a positive emotion score were also calculated. Univariate and multivariate linear regression models on the basis of a permutation test were used to assess the associations of affective states with sexual behaviors and health status. RESULTS:A total of 5871 active MSM users and their 477,374 postings were finally selected. Both positive affect and positive emotions (eg, joy) peaked between 7 AM and 9 AM. Negative affect and negative emotions (eg, sadness and disgust) peaked between 2 AM and 4 AM. During that time, 25.1% (97/387) of negative postings were related to health and 13.4% (52/387) of negative postings were related to seeking social support. A multivariate analysis showed that the MSM who were more likely to post sexual behaviors were more likely to express positive affect (beta=0.3107; P<.001) and positive emotions (joy: beta=0.027; P<.001), as well as negative emotions (sadness: beta=0.0443; P<.001 and disgust: beta=0.0256; P<.001). They also had a higher positive sentiment score (beta=0.2947; P<.001) and a higher positive emotion score (beta=0.1612; P<.001). The MSM who were more likely to post their health status were more likely to express negative affect (beta=0.8088; P<.001) and negative emotions, including sadness (beta=0.0705; P<.001), anger (beta=0.0058; P<.001), fear (beta=0.0052; P<.001), and disgust (beta=0.3065; P<.001), and less likely to express positive affect (beta=-0.0224; P=.02). In addition, they had a lower positive sentiment score (beta=-0.8306; P<.001) and a lower positive emotion score (beta=-0.3743; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS:The MSM social media community mainly expressed their positive affect in the early morning and negative affect after midnight. Positive affective states were associated with being sexually active, whereas negative affective states were associated with health problems, mostly about mental health. Our finding suggests the potential to deliver different health-related intervention strategies (eg, psychological counseling and safe sex promotion) on a social media app according to the affective states of MSM in real time.

Project description:BackgroundIn the absence of detailed information about the population size and behaviour data of men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM), the estimation of prevalence rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the design of public health interventions become difficult. The aim of the present study is to estimate the lower boundary of age-specific population sizes and retrieve self-reported information from this population.MethodsWe used publicly accessible data from a large online dating and social network website for MSM in Germany to retrieve data on the age and regional distribution of profiles. The profiles were also stratified by their information on the preferred position during anal intercourse, safer sex, and sexual identity.ResultsA total of 464,873 user profiles correspond to an average 15.2 profiles per 1,000 male inhabitants in Germany, varying between 7.6 and 45.6 across federal states. Although the information on the absolute numbers for different age groups is limited by the search engine, age-specific relative frequencies were found to increase from 12.9 in the age group of 18 to 20 year olds to 24.6 profiles per 1,000 male inhabitants in the 28 to 30 year olds. The data shows age-specific trends for safer sex with an increasing easiness of reporting "never" engaging in safer sex or stating that safer sex "needs discussion" with increasing age. Around one third of profile owners stated to be versatile with respect to the preferred position in anal intercourse. All other options ("only bottom", "more bottom", "only top", "more top") were preferred equally likely by roughly 10% of profile owners, respectively.ConclusionsOnline social network or dating sites can provide some information about specific populations in the absence of other data sources. The presented results are the first to report age-specific rates of MSM per 1,000 male inhabitants in Germany and may be useful to estimate age-specific prevalence or incidence rates as well as to inform health promotion activities and modelling studies for MSM in Germany.

Dataset Information

Factors associated with disclosing men who have sex with men (MSM) sexual behaviors and HIV-positive status: A study based on a social network analysis in Nanjing, China.

Publications

Factors associated with disclosing men who have sex with men (MSM) sexual behaviors and HIV-positive status: A study based on a social network analysis in Nanjing, China.

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