Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia; Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia.
Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia; Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Australia.
Int J Drug Policy. 2022 Feb;100:103526. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103526. Epub 2021 Nov 18.
Establishing typologies of drug use among gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (GBMSM) who are living with HIV, as well as differences in health outcomes between them, is important in addressing health inequalities within this population. We sought to determine how use of non-prescription drugs is clustered for these individuals and to establish differences in their broader health and well-being, including STI diagnosis, mental health, and physical health.
We examined past-year drug use reported by 747 GBMSM in Australia as part of the HIV Futures 8 survey, a large cross-sectional survey of people living with HIV. We tested between two and five latent class models of specific drug use and conducted cross-class comparisons of past-year STI diagnosis and self-reported mental and physical health.
We identified four distinct drug use typologies: 'chemsex-related use', 'minimal use', 'analgesic and sedative use', and 'diverse use'. The 'chemsex use' and 'diverse use' classes had a markedly higher likelihood of STI diagnosis relative to the other two classes, while the 'analgesic and sedative use' class reported markedly poorer physical and mental health scores than the other classes.
While GBMSM living with HIV in Australia have higher rates of drug use compared to other GBMSM, and the general population, our analysis indicates that patterns of drug use are not uniform within this group. Specific patterns of drug use are related to distinct health inequalities, and this should be accounted for when addressing the needs of men who use drugs differently.
确定与 HIV 共存的男同性恋和双性恋男性（GBMSM）中的药物使用类型，以及他们之间健康结果的差异，对于解决该人群中的健康不平等问题非常重要。我们旨在确定这些人非处方药物的使用情况如何聚类，并确定他们在更广泛的健康和福祉方面的差异，包括性传播感染（STI）诊断、心理健康和身体健康。
我们检查了 747 名澳大利亚 GBMSM 在 HIV Futures 8 调查中报告的过去一年的药物使用情况，该调查是一项针对 HIV 感染者的大型横断面调查。我们测试了两种到五种特定药物使用的潜在类别模型，并对过去一年的 STI 诊断和自我报告的心理健康和身体健康进行了跨类别比较。
我们确定了四种不同的药物使用类型：“性相关药物使用”、“最小使用”、“镇痛和镇静剂使用”和“多样化使用”。与其他两个类别相比，“性相关药物使用”和“多样化使用”类别的 STI 诊断可能性明显更高，而“镇痛和镇静剂使用”类别的身体和心理健康评分明显低于其他类别。
尽管澳大利亚与 HIV 共存的 GBMSM 与其他 GBMSM 相比，以及与一般人群相比，药物使用率更高，但我们的分析表明，该组内的药物使用模式并不统一。特定的药物使用模式与不同的健康不平等有关，在解决不同药物使用男性的需求时应考虑到这一点。
