Prevalence of HIV-risk related drug use and sexual activity among men who have sex with men attending a specialist UK club drug clinic.

Drugs and Alcohol Today,Volume 17, Issue 1, March 2017. Purpose To examine patterns of drug use among a cohort of drug treatment-seeking drug-using gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), and whether these activities differ between, or predict, HIV status. Design/methodology/approach Cross-sectional study in a specialist club drug clinic in London covering 407 consecutive attendees who identified as MSM. Substance use, including injecting drug use (IDU); associated sexual activity; and self-reported HIV status were measured by clinical interview and National Drug Treatment Monitoring System data tool. Findings Over a 45-month period, 407 MSM attended the clinic. 62.1% were HIV positive, 48.9% had injected drugs, 14.9% reported needle sharing and 73.3% used drugs to facilitate sex. The most commonly reported problem drugs were GHB/GBL (54.3%) methamphetamine (47.7%) and mephedrone (37.8%) HIV status was associated with methamphetamine, mephedrone, IDU, sharing equipment, using drugs to facilitate sex, older age and older age of drug initiation, as well as Hepatitis C (HCV) stataus. Use of methamphetamine, HCV infection, older age and IDU predicted HIV positive status in a logistic regression model. Practical implications The ffindings describe a constellation of risk factors including high levels of IDU, sharing of equipment and high-risk sexual activity in a population with high rates of HIV poisitive serology. They also provide further evidence for a link...
Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today - Category: Addiction Source Type: research