Biomedical HIV Protection Among Gay and Bisexual Men Who Use Crystal Methamphetamine

Mohamed A Hammoud; Fengyi Jin; Lisa Maher; Adam Bourne; Bridget Haire; Peter Saxton; Stefanie Vaccher; Toby Lea; Louisa Degenhardt; Garrett Prestage

doi:10.1007/s10461-019-02739-7

Biomedical HIV Protection Among Gay and Bisexual Men Who Use Crystal Methamphetamine

AIDS Behav. 2020 May;24(5):1400-1413. doi: 10.1007/s10461-019-02739-7.

Authors

Mohamed A Hammoud¹, Fengyi Jin², Lisa Maher³, Adam Bourne⁴, Bridget Haire⁵, Peter Saxton⁶, Stefanie Vaccher², Toby Lea^{7

8}, Louisa Degenhardt⁹, Garrett Prestage²

Affiliations

¹ HIV Epidemiology and Prevention Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Level 6, Wallace Wurth Building, Kensington, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia. mhammoud@kirby.unsw.edu.au.
² HIV Epidemiology and Prevention Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Level 6, Wallace Wurth Building, Kensington, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
³ Viral Hepatitis Epidemiology and Prevention Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Level 6, Wallace Wurth Building, Kensington, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
⁴ Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Building NR6, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia.
⁵ Public Health Interventions Research Group, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Level 6, Wallace Wurth Building, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
⁶ Department of Social and Community Health, School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Building 730, Tamaki Campus, 261 Morrin Road, St Johns, Auckland, 1072, New Zealand.
⁷ German Institute for Addiction and Prevention Research, Catholic University of Applied Sciences, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 79-81, 50668, Cologne, Germany.
⁸ Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney, John Goodsell Building, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
⁹ National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, 22 - 32 King Street, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia.

PMID: 31758350
DOI: 10.1007/s10461-019-02739-7

Abstract

Use of crystal methamphetamine (crystal) among gay and bisexual men (GBM) has been associated with condomless anal intercourse with casual partners (CLAIC) and HIV infection. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and undetectable viral load (UVL) are important biomedical HIV prevention strategies. We investigate the relationship between crystal use and HIV sexual risk behaviours in the context of PrEP and UVL. In 2018, 1367 GBM provided details about crystal use and HIV prevention strategies. Binary logistic regression was used to estimate associations between crystal use and behaviour. Recent crystal use was independently associated with greater social engagement with gay men and having more sexual partners. Crystal use was also independently associated with use of PrEP and UVL among GBM who engaged in CLAIC. Although GBM who used crystal were more likely to have engaged in CLAIC, they were also more likely to use biomedical HIV prevention which mitigates against the risks of HIV infection.

Keywords: Crystal methamphetamine; Gay and bisexual men (GBM); HIV prevention; Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP); Undetectable viral load (UVL).

MeSH terms

Bisexuality
HIV Infections* / prevention & control
Homosexuality, Male
Humans
Male
Methamphetamine / adverse effects
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis*
Sexual Partners
Sexual and Gender Minorities*

Substances

Methamphetamine