Escuela de Salud Pública, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Instituto de Salud Pública, Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago, Chile.
PLoS One. 2023 Oct 19;18(10):e0287683. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287683. eCollection 2023.
Sexualized drug use (SDU) to enhance and extend sexual relations may involve risks of substances abuse (intoxication, interactions and overdose) and higher exposure to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. There are inconsistencies in the methodology and findings of previous research on SDU in Latin America (LA), and more studies are required. The purpose of this research was to characterize SDU in gay men and other men who have sex with men from 18 LA countries, and describe the aspects by comparing people who practice and do not practice SDU, at the general and country levels.
Cross-sectional study based on the data collected by LAMIS-2018. Dependent variable was SDU (last 12 months), and the independent variables were: drug use (in any context/in sexual context), sociodemographic, socioepidemiological, and psychosocial aspects. A descriptive analysis was carried out, comparing those who practiced and did not practice SDU.
LAMIS-2018 included 64,655 participants, averaging 30 years of age. 13.6% declared having practiced SDU (6.6% with multiple partners). In the last sexual encounter the most commonly used drugs were cannabis (9.3%), poppers (6%), and Viagra (5.4%), and in the last encounter with multiple partners, poppers (19.7%), cannabis (17%), and Viagra (13.2%). HIV diagnosis was reported by 27% of people practicing SDU, vs. 14.3% in the other group. Severe anxiety-depression symptoms were more common among people practicing SDU (9.2% vs. 7%), as were the episodes of homophobic intimidation (52.6% vs. 48.2%), insults (34.4% vs. 28.6%), and aggression (4.1% vs. 3.0%).
SDU was reported by a high percentage of people, with a predominance of the use of drugs related to sexual practice, and others for recreational use. Aspects described as the higher proportion of self-reported HIV diagnosis and severe symptoms of anxiety-depression among those who practiced SDU, show that is necessary to implement preventive strategies to reduce the harmful impacts that can sometimes result from this practice, including harm reduction policies, promote access to mental health services and support in situations of homophobia and stigma.
为了增强和延长性关系而进行的性化药物使用（SDU）可能涉及物质滥用（中毒、相互作用和过量）和更高的 HIV 及其他性传播感染风险。拉丁美洲（LA）以前关于 SDU 的研究在方法和结果上存在不一致，需要进行更多的研究。本研究的目的是描述来自 18 个 LA 国家的男同性恋者和其他与男性发生性关系者的 SDU 特征，并通过比较在一般和国家层面上进行和不进行 SDU 的人的情况来描述 SDU 的各个方面。
这是一项基于 2018 年拉丁美洲性行为调查（LAMIS-2018）收集的数据的横断面研究。因变量是 SDU（过去 12 个月），自变量是：在任何环境中/在性环境中使用药物、社会人口学、社会流行病学和心理社会方面。对进行和不进行 SDU 的人进行了描述性分析。
LAMIS-2018 共纳入 64655 名参与者，平均年龄 30 岁。13.6%的人报告曾进行过 SDU（6.6%有多个性伴侣）。在最近的一次性行为中，最常使用的药物是大麻（9.3%）、嗅盐（6%）和伟哥（5.4%），而在最近与多个性伴侣发生的性行为中，最常使用的药物是嗅盐（19.7%）、大麻（17%）和伟哥（13.2%）。有 27%的进行 SDU 的人报告了 HIV 诊断，而在其他组中为 14.3%。进行 SDU 的人更常见严重的焦虑-抑郁症状（9.2%比 7%），以及恐同恐吓（52.6%比 48.2%）、侮辱（34.4%比 28.6%）和攻击（4.1%比 3.0%）。
有很高比例的人报告了 SDU，其特点是与性行为有关的药物使用比例较高，而其他药物则是为了娱乐而使用。在进行 SDU 的人中，报告 HIV 诊断率较高和严重焦虑-抑郁症状的比例较高，这表明有必要实施预防策略，以减少这种行为有时可能带来的有害影响，包括减少危害政策、促进获得心理健康服务以及在恐同和污名化的情况下提供支持。
