Factors associated with bacterial sexually transmitted infection screening uptake and diagnosis among men who have sex with men in France.
The prevalence of syphilis, Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) in men who have sex with men (MSM) is very high. As these bacterial sexually transmitted infections (bSTIs) are frequently asymptomatic, they are often undiagnosed and therefore untreated. We aimed to characterize the profile of MSM who reported bSTI screening and diagnosis in the previous 12 months, and to identify the factors associated with a diagnosis of a bSTI among MSM in France.
We used data from Enquête Rapport au Sexe (ERAS), a large French national anonymous cross-sectional online survey among MSM conducted from 26 February to 11 April 2021. After comparing MSM screened and diagnosed in the previous year with those who were not, a binary logistic regression model was used to compare MSM diagnosed with at least one bSTI with those who were not.
Of the 13 300 survey respondents, 6 263 (47.1%) MSM reported screening for at least one bSTI in the previous 12 months. Of these, 1 060 (16.9%) were diagnosed for at least one bSTI during their most recent screening. Specifically, 446 (7.1%) MSM were diagnosed with NG, 427 (6.8%) with CT, and 402 (6.4%) for syphilis. The following self-reported factors were associated with a greater likelihood of bSTI diagnosis: younger age, a lower educational level, frequenting MSM meeting places, not currently using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) but willing to take preventive treatment against bSTIs (reference group: not using PrEP and not willing to take preventive treatment against bSTIs), low health literacy, more than one sexual male partner, practicing chemsex, and condomless anal intercourse with casual male partners (the latter three factors concerning the previous six months).
A large proportion of MSM were diagnosed for at least one bSTI. This result provides an insight into bSTI screening uptake and diagnosis among MSM in France, and could inform future decisions about how to plan effective bSTI screening and diagnosis programs for this population.
Kounta CH
,Chazelle E
,Ousseine YM
,Lot F
,Velter A
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《BMC INFECTIOUS DISEASES》
Sexual network characteristics of men who have sex with men with syphilis and/or gonorrhoea/chlamydia in Lima, Peru: network patterns as roadmaps for STI prevention interventions.
While men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by Peru's overlapping HIV and STI epidemics, there are few data on how partnership-level and network-level factors affect STI transmission in Peru. We explored partnership-level and network-level factors associated with gonorrhoea/chlamydia (Neisseria gonorrhoeae and/or Chlamydia trachomatis (NG/CT)) and/or syphilis infection among MSM in Peru.
We present the results of a cross-sectional secondary analysis of MSM (n=898) tested for syphilis and NG/CT infection as part of the screening process for two STI control trials in Lima, Peru. Participants completed questionnaires on demographics, sexual identity and role, characteristics of their three most recent sexual partners (partner sexual orientation, gender, role, partnership type, partner-specific sexual acts) and 30-day sexual network characteristics (number of sexual partners, partnership types, frequency of anal/vaginal intercourse). Participants were tested for syphilis and urethral, rectal and oropharyngeal NG/CT. Differences in network characteristics were analysed with χ2 and Kruskal-Wallis tests.
Approximately 38.9% of participants had a new STI diagnosis (syphilis (rapid plasma reagin ≥16): 10.6%; NG/CT: 22.9%; syphilis-NG/CT coinfection: 5.4%). Condomless anal intercourse (CAI) was not significantly associated with an STI diagnosis. Gay-identified participants with exclusively homosexual networks had a higher prevalence of STIs (47.4%) than gay-identified MSM with only heterosexual/bisexual partners (34.6%, p=0.04), despite reporting fewer sexual partners (any partners: 2, 1-4 vs 3, 2-6; p=0.001; casual partners: 1, 0-3 vs 2, 1-4; p=0.001) and more stable partnerships (1, 0-1 vs 0, 0-1; p=0.003) in the last month.
Network size and the number of casual sexual partners were associated with NG/CT infection among MSM in Peru. Despite reporting fewer sexual risk behaviours (smaller network size, more stable partnerships, less CAI), MSM with homosexual-only sexual networks had a higher prevalence of NG/CT and syphilis. These findings suggest network composition among MSM in Peru plays an important role in the risk for STI acquisition.
Blair C
,Passaro RC
,Segura ER
,Lake JE
,Perez-Brumer AG
,Sanchez J
,Lama JR
,Clark JL
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《-》
Bacterial sexually transmitted infections among men who have sex with men and transgender women using oral pre-exposure prophylaxis in Latin America (ImPrEP): a secondary analysis of a prospective, open-label, multicentre study.
The global burden of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) poses a challenge in the context of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) programmes. We aimed to explore factors associated with prevalent, incident, and recurrent STIs in men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women on PrEP in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru.
ImPrEP was a prospective, single-arm, open-label, multicentre study that enrolled MSM and transgender women in the context of the public health systems of Brazil (14 sites), Mexico (four sites), and Peru (ten sites) between February, 2018, and June, 2021. Eligibility criteria followed regional PrEP guidelines at the study start, including participants aged 18 years and older, not living with HIV, and reporting at least one of the following in the previous 6 months: condomless anal sex (CAS), anal sex with partner(s) living with HIV, any bacterial STI, or transactional sex. Eligible participants were screened and enrolled on the same day to receive daily oral PrEP (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg and emtricitabine 200 mg). We assessed three outcomes: prevalent bacterial STIs, incident bacterial STIs, and recurrent bacterial STIs. Testing occurred at baseline and quarterly for syphilis, anorectal chlamydia, and anorectal gonorrhoea. Behavioural data were collected at baseline and quarterly. The study was registered with the Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials, U1111-1217-6021.
Among all 9509 participants included in the ImPrEP study (3928 [41·3%] in Brazil, 3288 [34·6%] in Mexico, and 2293 [24·1%] in Peru), 8525 (89·7%) had available STI results at baseline and were included in the prevalent STI analysis, and 7558 (79·5%) had available STI results during follow-up and were included in the incident and recurrent STI analyses. 2184 (25·6%) of 8525 participants had any bacterial STI at baseline. STI incidence during follow-up was 31·7 cases per 100 person-years (95% CI 30·7-32·7), with the highest rate for anorectal chlamydia (11·6 cases per 100 person-years, 95% CI 11·0-12·2), followed by syphilis (10·5 cases per 100 person-years, 9·9-11·1) and anorectal gonorrhoea (9·7 cases per 100 person-years, 9·2-10·3). Although only 2391 (31·6%) of 7558 participants had at least one STI during follow-up, 915 (12·1%) participants had recurrent diagnoses, representing 2328 (61·2%) of 3804 incident STI diagnoses. Characteristics associated with prevalent, incident, and recurrent STIs included younger age, multiple sex partners, receptive CAS, substance use, and previous STI diagnoses at baseline (incident or recurrent only).
Our findings underscore the nuanced dynamics of STI transmission among MSM and transgender women across Latin America, highlighting an urgent need for tailored interventions to mitigate STI burden effectively, especially among the most susceptible individuals.
Unitaid, WHO, and ministries of health (Brazil, Mexico, and Peru).
For the Portuguese and Spanish translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.
Torres Silva MS
,Torres TS
,Coutinho C
,Ismério Moreira R
,da Costa Leite I
,Cunha M
,da Costa Leite PHA
,Cáceres CF
,Vega-Ramírez H
,Konda KA
,Guanira J
,Valdez Madruga J
,Wagner Cardoso S
,Benedetti M
,Pimenta MC
,Hoagland B
,Grinsztejn B
,Gonçalves Veloso V
,ImPrEP Study Group
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《Lancet HIV》