Sexualized Drug Use and Chemsex: Their Association with Sexual Health Among Men who have Sex with Men Living in Greece

Antonios Poulios; Anna Apostolidou; Stavroula Triantafyllidou; Konstantinos Protopapas; Athanasios Tapeinos; Georgios Papadopetrakis; Martha Papadopoulou; Anastasia Antoniadou; Mina Psichogiou; Lissy Canellopoulos

doi:10.1080/19317611.2022.2045417

Sexualized Drug Use and Chemsex: Their Association with Sexual Health Among Men who have Sex with Men Living in Greece

Int J Sex Health. 2022 Mar 14;34(3):450-461. doi: 10.1080/19317611.2022.2045417. eCollection 2022.

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Clinical Research "Subjectivity and Social Bond", Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
² Greek Association of People Living with HIV - Positive Voice, Athens, Greece.
³ Fourth Department of Internal Medicine, "Attikon" University Hospital, Chaidari, Greece.
⁴ First Department of Internal Medicine, "Laiko" General Hospital, Athens, Greece.

Abstract

Objectives: The study aims to investigate rates of sexualized drug use (SDU) and chemsex, a type of SDU involving specifically the use of crystal methamphetamine, mephedrone, or GHB/GBL and their association with the rates of negative sexual health outcomes among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Greece. Methods: Survey of 485 MSM in internal disease departments and community testing centers. Results: Twenty-eight percent of participants were involved in SDU and 20.4% in chemsex. HIV positive status and recent STI diagnoses were associated with SDU involvement. Conclusion: SDU and chemsex rates and their impact on health reveal the need for informed community-based services.

Keywords: Greece; Sexualized drug use; chemsex; men who have sex with men; sexual health.