Prevalence of unprotected anal intercourse among men who have sex with men in China: an updated meta-analysis

Jing Wu; Yifei Hu; Yujiang Jia; Yingying Su; Huixia Cui; Huixin Liu; Ning Wang

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0098366

Prevalence of unprotected anal intercourse among men who have sex with men in China: an updated meta-analysis

PLoS One. 2014 May 29;9(5):e98366. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0098366. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Jing Wu¹, Yifei Hu¹, Yujiang Jia², Yingying Su¹, Huixia Cui³, Huixin Liu¹, Ning Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
² Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America.
³ College of Nursing, Liaoning Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this review was to assess the prevalence of unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China.

Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted including online databases like "Wanfang", Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, PubMed and manual searches. Analyses using random-effects models were performed to estimate the prevalence of UAI among MSM in China.

Results: Sixty-two articles reporting eighty-two studies were selected. The pooled prevalence rates of UAI with any male partner, with regular male partners, with non-regular male partners, with casual male partners, and with commercial male partners among MSM were 53%(95%CI: 51-56%), 45%(95%CI: 39-51%), 34%(95%CI: 24-45%), 33%(95%CI: 30-36%), 12% (95%CI: 5-26%), respectively. A cumulative meta-analysis found that the pooled UAI prevalence decreased over time.

Conclusions: Although the prevalence of UAI with male partners among MSM in China presents a decreasing trend over the past decade, the concomitant rise in HIV prevalence and incidence indicates that current prevention intervention efforts are insufficient to effectively contain the spread of HIV. Therefore, the persistently high prevalence of risky sexual behaviors underscores the need for innovative and effective prevention strategies among MSM.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

China / epidemiology
Homosexuality, Male*
Humans
Male
Population Surveillance*
Prevalence
Sexual Partners*
Unsafe Sex*

Grants and funding

This study is supported by the National Megaprojects of Science Research for the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012ZX10001-001). The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.