A Qualitative Study of the Relationship Between Methamphetamine Abuse and Sexual Dysfunction in Male Substance Abusers

Dolatshahi, Behrooz; Farhoudian, Ali; Falahatdoost, Mozhgan; Tavakoli, Mahmoud; Dogahe, E. R.

doi:10.5812/ijhrba.29640

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Nearly all participants used amyl nitrite in the previous 12 months, and more than two-thirds used erectile dysfunction medications. Amyl nitrite is commonly used as a muscle relaxant to facilitate receptive anal intercourse, and erectile dysfunction medications are often reported by MSM who used methamphetamine for sex as psychostimulant use is often associated with difficulties gaining and maintaining an erection (39). About half of the sample reported consumption of other substances that are commonly associated with chemsex (e.g., GHB/GBL, mephedrone, ketamine) (2).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crystal Methamphetamine Use in Sexual Settings Among German Men Who Have Sex With Men

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: Men who have sex with men (MSM) are a vulnerable subgroup for problems with substance use, including crystal methamphetamine. Drug use in sexual settings, commonly referred to as “chemsex,” has been an issue of growing concern in MSM communities. Recreational drugs commonly associated with chemsex include crystal methamphetamine, gamma-hydroxybutyrate/gamma-butyrolactone (GHB/GBL), mephedrone, and ketamine. Drug use in sexual settings is correlated with sexual practices associated with the acquisition and transmission of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and hepatitis C. Adverse mental health outcomes are often reported at higher rates among MSM who use methamphetamine.Methods: This paper refers to a subset of participants from the German Chemsex Survey, an MSM-community recruited, self-completed online survey with a self-selected convenience sample. Participants who used crystal methamphetamine for sex (n = 130) were compared to participants who did not use drugs for sex (n = 177). The survey comprised 420 different items considering recreational substance use, substance use in sexual settings, harm reduction strategies, mental health, sexual transmitted infections, and mental health care service utilization.Results: A total of 1,583 men started the survey; 1,050 participants provided information on substance use. Twenty-seven percent of participants used crystal methamphetamine in the last 12 months, and of those, 89% used methamphetamine in a sexual setting and 50% reported injecting methamphetamine. Regarding mental health, participants who reported methamphetamine use in sexual settings were more likely to report symptoms of depression, somatization, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than the German male general population. Participants who reported methamphetamine use for sex were more likely to report symptoms of major depression, being HIV positive, and taking HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) than participants who did not report methamphetamine use. Most participants used harm reduction practices to reduce the risks associated with using methamphetamine in sexual settings.Conclusion: Crystal methamphetamine is used in the context of sexual activities by German MSM. Poorer mental health status than in the male general population was observed. MSM who used methamphetamine in this study seemed to be aware of potential health risks associated with their substance use and utilized harm reduction strategies and biomedical HIV prevention strategies like PrEP.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crystal Methamphetamine Use in Sexual Settings Among German Men Who Have Sex With Men

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The results showed the negative impacts of MA dependence on sexual function. A dramatic increase in libido, erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, and losing control during sexual intercourse was reported (6).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methamphetamine Dependence, Psychological Well-being, Criminality and High Risk Sexual Behaviors in Female-Only Methadone Services in Tehran and Karaj, Iran

Massah

Shishehgar

2018

Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Methamphetamine (MA) abuse is a health concern among drug abuse patients in Iran. Objectives: This study aimed at determining the prevalence of MA dependence among a group of female methadone users and investigating the current psychological well-being, high risk sexual and criminality behaviors, and the status of receiving MA treatment. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey conducted in Iran. The study was conducted at 5 central female-only methadone services in Tehran and Karaj, during years 2011 to 2013. A questionnaire was devised to collect baseline data. The general health questionnaire-28 and the Opiate Treatment Index were used to assess psychological well-being, and criminality and high-risk sexual behaviors. Results: Overall, 245 females were registered at these sites. Of them, 201 females (82%) were dependent on MA while on treatment. Duration of MA dependence was 6 years. However, only 14.3% of the participants reported lifetime MA treatment. No participant was on MA treatment. Participants reported high rates of MA-related depression (76.4%), anxiety (68.4%), social dysfunction (41.2%), and somatic symptoms (38.2%), respectively. Untreated MA dependence in methadone treatment was associated with engagement in high-risk sexual behaviors (43.8%) and criminality (28.7%). Only 10% of the participants reported receiving a lifetime matrix model. All of them reported that the Matrix model was long and it was not easily available in methadone services. Conclusions:The study showed that the high prevalence for MA dependence and its adverse health impacts while receiving MA treatment remained the same. Effective psychosocial treatments should be delivered for MA dependence among female methadone users.

show abstract

“…Only a few studies have linked SDs with erectile dysfunction with no clear indication of a potential threshold that could reverse ‘stimulating effect’. 29–31 Although this study did not examine whether the motivation for SD use was to facilitate sex, the role of SDs in sexual activity is more complicated than that of heroin and may drive users to have sex. This might explain the consistently high frequency of sexual activity observed among SD-only users.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Association between recreational drug use and sexual practices among people who inject drugs in Southwest China: a cross-sectional study

Zhang

Cheng

et al. 2018

BMJ Open

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectiveTo describe the differences in sexual practices among individuals with various drug administration patterns.SettingA detoxification centre in Southwest China, a part of the Chinese national sentential surveillance network for hepatitis C virus (HCV), HIV and syphilis infections, was recruited.ParticipantsA total of 610 newly enrolled injection drug users (IDUs) from detoxification centre were included during 2015.Primary and secondary outcome measuresSelf-reported sexual activities, drug-related practices and laboratory-confirmed HCV, HIV and syphilis infection status were collected.ResultsOf the 610 IDU, 295 (48.4%) used heroin only, 277 (45.4%) poly-drug users reported the mixed use of synthetic drugs (SDs) with heroin and 38 (6.2%) used SDs only. The average daily drug injection frequency for poly-drug users (3.3±1.2 times) was the highest, followed by heroin-only (2.2±0.8 times) and SD-only users (1.2±0.4 time). SD-only drug users reported the highest proportion (86.8%) of engaging in sexual activities in the previous month, with more than half (54.5%) reporting any condomless sex. A higher frequency of daily injecting in heroin-only users was significantly correlated with the less likelihood of sex, condomless sex in the past month, having sex with fixed partners, condomless commercial sex in the previous 12 months (all p<0.01). In poly-drug users, who injected drugs two times per day was associated with the highest proportion of people who engaged in sex and commercial sex (p<0.05). For SD-only users, increased drug use was not associated with reducing sexual risk (p>0.05). Different patterns of HCV, HIV and syphilis infections prevalence rates were shown among the IDU depending on the roles and length of exposure.ConclusionsThe daily drug injecting frequency of heroin-only and poly-drug users was negatively associated with sexual activities, but SD-only users kept a high frequent engagement in sex. The interventions for relevant diseases should adapt to characteristics of IDU.

show abstract

A Qualitative Study of the Relationship Between Methamphetamine Abuse and Sexual Dysfunction in Male Substance Abusers

Cited by 14 publications

References 18 publications

Crystal Methamphetamine Use in Sexual Settings Among German Men Who Have Sex With Men

Crystal Methamphetamine Use in Sexual Settings Among German Men Who Have Sex With Men

Methamphetamine Dependence, Psychological Well-being, Criminality and High Risk Sexual Behaviors in Female-Only Methadone Services in Tehran and Karaj, Iran

Association between recreational drug use and sexual practices among people who inject drugs in Southwest China: a cross-sectional study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About