Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
J Med Virol. 2023 Aug;95(8):e29057. doi: 10.1002/jmv.29057.
The mpox outbreak since 2022 had attacked the community of men who have sex with men (MSM) heavily. This large cross-sectional study investigated the levels and associated factors of mpox risk perception among young MSM (YMSM) aged 18-29 years in six provincial regions of China in September 2022. The participants were recruited via facility-based sampling. Mpox risk perception was measured by perceived susceptibility and perceived severity of mpox. Geodetector was used to measure stratified heterogeneity of mpox risk perception. Univariate and multivariable linear regressions were used to examine the factors associated with mpox risk perception. A total of 2493 participants were included with a mean age of 24.6 years. The proportion of perceiving a susceptibility of mpox under different scenarios ranged 3.7%-17.0% and that of perceiving a severity of mpox ranged 81.6%-83.2%. Stratified heterogeneity of perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and overall perceived risk of mpox were observed in several characteristics such as study sites, monthly income, risk behaviors, and psychosocial factors. Multivariable regression showed the level of mpox risk perception was positively associated with having in-person gathering activities (b = 0.457, 95% CI: 0.208, 0.705), history of HIV infection (b = 0.431, 95% CI: 0.028, 0.834), depressive symptoms (b = 0.069, 95% CI: 0.049, 0.090), and self-stigma to MSM identity (b = 0.047, 95% CI: 0.024, 0.071). The Chinese YMSM showed a high level of perceived severity of mpox but a low level of perceived susceptibility. It is warranted to strengthen targeted risk communication of mpox, develop comprehensive and unstigmatized health messages, and provide mental health support for YMSM.
自 2022 年以来，猴痘疫情严重袭击了男男性行为者（MSM）群体。本项大型横断面研究于 2022 年 9 月在中国六个省级地区调查了 18-29 岁的年轻男男性行为者（YMSM）对猴痘风险的感知水平及其相关因素。研究通过基于场所的抽样招募参与者。通过对猴痘的易感性和严重程度的感知来衡量猴痘风险感知。地理探测器用于衡量猴痘风险感知的分层异质性。采用单变量和多变量线性回归来检验与猴痘风险感知相关的因素。共纳入 2493 名参与者，平均年龄为 24.6 岁。在不同情景下，感知猴痘易感性的比例为 3.7%-17.0%，感知猴痘严重程度的比例为 81.6%-83.2%。在研究地点、月收入、风险行为和心理社会因素等几个特征中观察到了感知易感性、感知严重程度和总体猴痘风险感知的分层异质性。多变量回归显示，猴痘风险感知水平与面对面聚会活动（b=0.457，95%CI：0.208，0.705）、HIV 感染史（b=0.431，95%CI：0.028，0.834）、抑郁症状（b=0.069，95%CI：0.049，0.090）和对 MSM 身份的自我污名化（b=0.047，95%CI：0.024，0.071）呈正相关。中国 YMSM 对猴痘的严重程度感知较高，但对易感性感知较低。有必要加强对猴痘的针对性风险沟通，制定全面且无污名化的健康信息，并为 YMSM 提供心理健康支持。
