Tag: EMIS 2017

EMIS 2017 Journal Articles 2017

Sexual and mental health inequalities across gender identity and sex-assigned-at-birth among men-who-have-sex-with-men in Europe: findings from EMIS-2017

Post author By aj s
Post date 29. September 2020

International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health, 2020; 17(20): 7379 (doi: 10.3390/ijerph17207379).

Authors: Ford Hickson, Max Appenroth, Uwe Koppe, Axel J. Schmidt, David Reid and Peter Weatherburn

Abstract

Some men who have sex with men (MSM) were assigned female at birth (AFB) and/or identify as trans men. Little is known about how these men differ from other MSM. We compared sexual and mental health indicators from the European MSM Internet Survey (EMIS-2017), comparing men AFB and/or currently identifying as trans men with those assigned male at birth (AMB) who identified as men. EMIS-2017 was an opportunistic 33-language online sexual health survey for MSM recruiting throughout Europe. We used regression models adjusting for age, country of residence and employment status to examine differences across groups. An analytic sample of 125,720 men living in 45 countries was used, of which 674 (0.5%) were AFB and 871 (0.7%) identified as trans men. The two sub-groups were not coterminous, forming three minority groups: AFB men, AFB trans men and AMB trans men. Minority groups were younger and more likely unemployed. Anxiety, depression, alcohol dependence and sexual unhappiness were more prevalent in sex/gender minority men. Conversely HIV and STI diagnoses were less common. AMB trans men were most likely to have sexual risk behavior with steady partners and to have unmet health promotion needs, and were least likely to be reached by interventions. Sex assigned at birth and trans identification were associated with different sexual and mental health needs. To facilitate service planning and to foster inclusion, sex-assigned-at-birth and current gender identity should be routinely collected in health surveys.

Keywords: trans men; homosexuality; transgender; LGBT; anxiety; depression; STIs; HIV; community survey

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Tags EMIS 2017

Cross-sectional analysis of chemsex drug use and gonorrhoea diagnosis among men who have sex with men in the UK

Post author By aj s
Post date 1. October 2019

Sexual Health, 2019, 16, 464–472 (doi:10.1071/SH18159).

Authors: Manik Kohli, Ford Hickson, Caroline Free, David Reid, Peter Weatherburn

Abstract

Background: Illicit drug use among men who have sex with men (MSM) has been associated with sexual risk and HIV. Less is documented about associations with other sexually transmissible infections (STIs). The aim of the present study was to determine whether the use of drugs commonly associated with chemsex is associated with increased risk of gonorrhoea among MSM.

Methods: Using data from 16 065 UK-based respondents to the European MSM Internet Survey (2010), we examined associations between a recent diagnosis of gonorrhoea and three chemsex drugs (crystal methamphetamine, γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB)/γ-butyrolactone (GBL) and mephedrone). Univariate logistic regression identified determinants of gonorrhoea diagnosis and multivariate logistic regression models calculated adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for independent associations between chemsex drugs and gonorrhoea.

Results: MSM who reported using crystal methamphetamine and GHB/GBL in the previous year had 1.92- and 2.23-fold higher odds of gonorrhoea respectively over the same period (P = 0.0001 and P < 0.0001; n = 15 137) after adjusting for age, recruitment website, HIV status, residence and use of other chemsex drugs. MSM reporting the use of all three chemsex drugs had the highest increased odds (aOR 3.58; P < 0.0001; n = 15 174). Mephedrone alone was not associated with gonorrhoea in multivariate models.

Conclusions: Use of chemsex drugs is associated with a higher risk of gonorrhoea. The results of this study complement existing research about crystal methamphetamine and indicate a role for GHB/GBL in adverse sexual health outcomes. The use of mephedrone alongside other chemsex drugs may account for its lack of association with gonorrhoea in multivariate models. Future research should use encounter-level data, examine other STIs and attribute pathways through which chemsex leads to infection.

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Tags All gay & bisexual men, Chemsex, Drugs and alcohol, EMIS 2017, Gay Men's Sex Survey

EMIS 2017 Journal Articles 2017

Estimating the ‘PrEP Gap’: how implementation and access to PrEP differ between countries in Europe and Central Asia in 2019

Post author By aj s
Post date 29. September 2019

Eurosurveillance, 2019; 24(41) (doi: 10.2807/1560-7917).

Authors: Rosalie Hayes, Axel J. Schmidt, Anastasia Pharris, Yusef Azad, Alison E. Brown, Peter Weatherburn, Ford Hickson, Valerie Delpech, Teymur Noori, the ECDC Dublin Declaration Monitoring Network.

Abstract

In 2019, only 14 European and Central Asian countries provided reimbursed HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Using EMIS-2017 data, we present the differ-ence between self-reported use and expressed need for PrEP in individual countries and the European Union (EU). We estimate that 500,000 men who have sex with men in the EU cannot access PrEP, although they would be very likely to use it. PrEP’s potential to eliminate HIV is currently unrealised by national healthcare systems.

This article is copyright of the authors or their affiliated institutions, 2019

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Tags EMIS 2017

EMIS 2017 International reports 2017

EMIS-2017: European Report

Post author By aj s
Post date 15. August 2019

The EMIS Network. EMIS-2017 – The European Men-Who-Have-Sex-With-Men Internet Survey. Key findings from 50 countries.

Report details:
Stockholm, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 2019 (ISBN 978-92-9498-341-1).

Suggested citation:
The EMIS Network. EMIS-2017 – The European Men-Who-Have-Sex-With-Men Internet Survey. Key findings from 50 countries. Stockholm: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control; 2019.

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