Duailibe Felipe Tavares, Moore David, Hull Mark, Lima Viviane D
University of British Columbia, Department of Medicine, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
PLoS One. 2025 Sep 11;20(9):e0330853. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0330853. eCollection 2025.
Estimating the size of key populations is critical for effective research and policy development. We estimated the population size of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM) based on different definitions and compared the demographic composition of the GBM and non-GBM populations in Canada.
This descriptive study used data from the 2015-2016 and 2019-2020 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) cycles. We selected men aged 18-64 years who had valid responses to the sexual identity and sexual behaviour contents. We explored different combinations of the survey questions to estimate the size of the GBM population in Canada and conducted a separate analysis for Canada's four most populous provinces, comparing sociodemographic characteristics.
Using a definition of GBM combining sexual identity and behaviour (i.e., men who identify as gay or bisexual or who had sex with men in the last 12 months), the weighted proportion of GBM in the 2015-2016 cycle was 2.7% (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.9%-3.4%) in Alberta, 3.5% (95% CI 2.7%-4.4%) in British Columbia, 4.1% (95% CI 3.2%-4.9%) in Ontario, and 4.8% (95% CI 4.0%-5.7%) in Quebec. In the 2019-2020 cycle, the weighted proportion of GBM (i.e., men who identify as gay, bisexual or pansexual, or who had sex with men in the last 12 months) was 4.4% (95% CI 3.3%-5.4%) in British Columbia and 4.7% (95% CI 3.9%-5.4%) in Ontario. Overall, compared to non-GBM, GBM were more likely to be single/never married, have an annual household income of less than $30,000, live in medium and large population centres and have lower mean age.
Our estimates showed sexual orientation discordance in Canada. Our findings also suggested that the GBM population might be increasing over time.
估计关键人群的规模对于有效的研究和政策制定至关重要。我们根据不同定义估计了男同性恋者、双性恋者以及其他与男性发生性行为的男性（GBM）的人口规模，并比较了加拿大GBM人群和非GBM人群的人口构成。
这项描述性研究使用了2015 - 2016年和2019 - 2020年加拿大社区健康调查（CCHS）周期的数据。我们选取了年龄在18 - 64岁、对性取向和性行为内容有有效回答的男性。我们探索了调查问题的不同组合，以估计加拿大GBM人群的规模，并对加拿大人口最多的四个省份进行了单独分析，比较社会人口学特征。
使用将性取向和性行为相结合的GBM定义（即自我认同为男同性恋或双性恋者，或在过去12个月内与男性发生过性行为的男性），在2015 - 2016年周期中，艾伯塔省GBM的加权比例为2.7%（95%置信区间（CI）1.9% - 3.4%），不列颠哥伦比亚省为3.5%（95% CI 2.7% - 4.4%），安大略省为4.1%（95% CI 3.2% - 4.9%），魁北克省为4.8%（95% CI 4.0% - 5.7%）。在2019 - 2020年周期中，不列颠哥伦比亚省GBM（即自我认同为男同性恋、双性恋或泛性恋者，或在过去12个月内与男性发生过性行为的男性）的加权比例为4.4%（95% CI 3.3% - 5.4%），安大略省为4.7%（95% CI 3.9% - 5.4%）。总体而言，与非GBM相比，GBM更有可能单身/从未结婚、家庭年收入低于30,000加元、居住在中型和大型人口中心且平均年龄较低。
我们的估计显示了加拿大的性取向不一致情况。我们的研究结果还表明，GBM人群可能会随着时间的推移而增加。
