An Illustrated A to Z of Chemsex

Via: http://ht.ly/Vpu9V By: https://twitter.com/paddycash

The Prevalence & Correlates of Undiagnosed HIV among Australian Gay & Bisexual Men: Results of a National, Community-Based, Bio-Behavioural Survey

Gay and bisexual men (GBM) with undiagnosed HIV are believed to contribute disproportionately to HIV transmission in Australia but national prevalence estimates have been lacking.

From November 2013 to November 2014, we recruited men at gay venues and events in six Australian states and territories. Of 7291 survey participants, 3071 men also provided an oral fluid sample for testing and decided whether to receive their test results or not. We calculated raw and population-weighted prevalence estimates and identified associations with undiagnosed infection using logistic regression.

Of 3071 participants, 213 men tested HIV-positive, of whom 19 were previously undiagnosed. After weighting for the size of the gay and bisexual male population in each state or territory, national HIV prevalence was estimated to be 7.2%, of which 9.1% were estimated to be undiagnosed. Compared with HIV-negative participants, men with undiagnosed HIV were more likely to report meeting partners at sex venues, using antiretroviral drugs as pre-exposure prophylaxis, condomless anal intercourse with casual partners, using party drugs for sex, injecting drugs and using amyl nitrite, crystal methamphetamine or gamma hydroxybutyrate in the six months prior to the survey.

The results indicate that the prevalence of undiagnosed HIV is relatively low among Australian GBM but is higher among men who report riskier sex and drug practices.

The results underline the importance of targeted HIV prevention and frequent testing for men at increased risk of infection.

Full article at: http://goo.gl/nqCmCe

By:  Holt M1, Lea T2, Asselin J3, Hellard M3,4,5, Prestage G6, Wilson D3,6, de Wit J2, Stoové M3.

• 1Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Australia, Sydney, Australia; m.holt@unsw.edu.au.
• 2Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Australia, Sydney, Australia.
• 3The Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
• 4Infectious Disease Unit, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
• 5Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
• 6The Kirby Institute, UNSW Australia, Sydney, Australia. 

More at:  https://twitter.com/hiv_insight

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Significant Misuse of Sildenafil (Viagra) in London Nightclubs

There is anecdotal evidence of misuse of erectile dysfunction medication, particularly to counteract some of the unwanted effects of recreational drugs on erectile function. However, there is little data from the United Kingdom (UK).

To evaluate the prevalence of sildenafil misuse in a UK population that has previously been shown to have high recreational drug use.

Individuals attending nightclubs catering for the men who have sex with men (MSM) community in South London were asked about lifetime and last year use of recreational drugs and sildenafil.

313 individuals were surveyed over four nights in 2013: 

• 282 (90.1%) were males and 248 (79.2%) were MSM. 
• Last year use of recreational drugs was high: 
• mephedrone (74.1%), 
• cocaine (61.3%), 
• MDMA/Ecstasy (59.2%), 
• GHB/GBL (52.8%), 
• cannabis (51.8%), and 
• ketamine (50%). 
• 136 (49.1%) MSM versus 6 (18.8%) non-MSM clubbers had misused sildenafil in the last year (p < .001). 
• Amongst the MSM clubbers, 
• 232 (93.5%) had heard of sildenafil, 
• 161 (64.9%) reported misuse of sildenafil in their lifetime and 
• 133 (53.6%) had misused sildenafil in the last year. 

This study demonstrates a high prevalence of sildenafil misuse in a population who are heavy users of recreational drugs; it is not likely that this young population have underlying erectile dysfunction as a reason for legitimate sildenafil use. There is the potential for interaction with other recreational drugs used including cocaine and volatile nitrites. Further work is required in to determine the extent and reason for the misuse.

Full article at: http://goo.gl/xyOdfh

By: Chan WL1, Wood DM2, Dargan PI2.

• 1a Emergency Department, Tan Tock Seng Hospital , Singapore.
• 2b Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, Clinical Toxicology, St Thomas' Hospital , London , United Kingdom. 

More at:  https://twitter.com/hiv_insight