Differentially classified methamphetamine-using men who have sex with men: A latent class analysis

Wilkerson, J. Michael; Noor, Syed W.; Rhoton, Jayson; Li, Dennis; Rosser, B. R. Simon

doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.07.003

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…There has been very little research published on the harm reduction practices of MSM. In a Canadian study, harm reduction strategies with focus on safety when injecting drugs were most common (55). Other strategies refer to restrictions of frequency or maintaining a healthy lifestyle, such as eating regularly, getting enough sleep, and staying hydrated (55).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a Canadian study, harm reduction strategies with focus on safety when injecting drugs were most common (55). Other strategies refer to restrictions of frequency or maintaining a healthy lifestyle, such as eating regularly, getting enough sleep, and staying hydrated (55). Avoidance of polydrug use is another important harm reduction practice, given the increased risk of overdose and other negative consequence of combining drugs in the same session.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One-third reported never avoiding using other stimulants at the same time as methamphetamine. Combined use of erectile dysfunction medications and alcohol, other recreational drugs, and especially amyl nitrite, increases risks for potentially fatal cardiovascular events and other serious drug interactions (56). Given that polydrug use was common in this sample and in other studies of MSM (57), there is some potential for improvement of applying this harm reduction strategy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2019

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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.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2019

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“…The predilection for methamphetamine or mephedrone uses in slamming depends on the country and on the drug-use patterns in the gay community of each country explored. For example, methamphetamine is almost absent in France or only sold in Paris at very high prices, explaining the preferential use of stimulants such as cathinones in the practice of slam, while methamphetamine is widely available in the USA [8, 9, 55, 56], Australia [10, 32], and Asia [5, 7, 30]. Therefore, slam is not necessarily associated with NPS in all countries, and its emergence is closely linked to the availability of cathinones and the appearance of mephedrone in 2007.…”

Section: Discussion/conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Slam Practice: A Review of the Literature

Schreck¹,

Victorri‐Vigneau

Guerlais³

et al. 2020

Eur Addict Res

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Background: Slamming has been developing since 2011 as a new international phenomenon, mostly among men who have sex with men (MSM). It consists of intravenous drug injection before or during planned sexual activity to sustain, enhance, disinhibit, or facilitate the experience. We aimed to synthesize the available published evidence through a systematic literature review in order to precisely describe this phenomenon and to better characterize the population engaging in this practice and its specific motives. Methods: A systematic review of the available literature was conducted to identify all relevant publications using PubMed, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library, and ScienceDirect. To complete the review, we followed the recommendations of the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses” method. We limited the search to studies published between January 2008 and May 2020. Results: Our search identified 530 publications, of which 27 were included in the final data synthesis. One study focused on heterosexual and homosexual subpopulations, and all other studies focused on MSM-specific samples. Among MSM, slam prevalence was extremely variable, ranging from 2 to 91%; regarding other sexually active subjects, prevalence ranged from 7 to 14%. The prevalence of HIV-positive subjects varied widely across studies, ranging from 0.6 to 100%. We found less data about hepatitis C virus serostatus, ranging from 3 to 100%. Methamphetamine and mephedrone were the 2 most used drugs. Discussion/Conclusion: The data we found in international literature were very heterogeneous and from poorly reproducible studies. The definition of slamming in the international literature is not always clear, which limits the completeness of the collected data. This topic has been open to studies only recently; however, health professionals must be trained in the management of this practice, considering its risks in the short and medium terms and its addictive potential. We provided and discussed recommendations and potential future directions.

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“…Despite these limitations, the present study further elucidates the substantial heterogeneity in substance use patterns among SMM living with HIV who use meth. Treatments that are often focused myopically on meth use may not be realistic for many SMM with different contexts and patterns of substance use requiring tailored approaches [60]. Findings clearly identify the need for tailored intervention approaches addressing the unique needs of ethnic minority men, particularly those facing profound structural barriers like a history of incarceration.…”

Section: Conculsionsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Tina's ParTy line: Polysubstance use patterns in sexual minority men living with HIV who use methamphetamine

Ewart

Johnson

Bainter

et al. 2021

Drug and Alcohol Review

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Introduction. This cross-sectional study examined the associations of demographic, structural and psychological factors with distinct typologies of polysubstance use in sexual minority men (SMM) living with HIV who use methamphetamine. Methods. In total, 161 SMM living with HIV who reported methamphetamine use in the past 3 months were recruited in San Francisco from 2013 to 2017 for a randomised controlled trial. A latent class analysis was conducted by leveraging baseline measures of self-reported use of 15 substances in the past 3 months as well as validated screening measures of hazardous alcohol and cannabis use. Correlates of latent class membership were examined using a three-step categorical latent variable logistic regression. Results. Four typologies of substance use were identified: (i) methamphetamine use only (43%); (ii) methamphetamine and crack-cocaine use (22%); (iii) party and play use-methamphetamine, gamma-hydroxybutyrate and amyl nitrites (i.e. poppers) with erectile dysfunction drugs (31%); and (iv) high polysubstance use (4%). SMM of colour and those with a history of incarceration were more commonly classified as engaging in methamphetamine and crack-cocaine use compared to party and play use. Men with higher sexual compulsivity scores were more commonly classified as engaging in party and play use and polysubstance use. Discussion and Conclusions. There is substantial heterogeneity in polysubstance use patterns among SMM living with HIV who use methamphetamine. This will inform the development of tailored substance use interventions addressing the unique needs of SMM of colour and targeting sexual compulsivity as a prominent comorbidity for some men.

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Differentially classified methamphetamine-using men who have sex with men: A latent class analysis

Cited by 10 publications

References 68 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

Slam Practice: A Review of the Literature

Tina's ParTy line: Polysubstance use patterns in sexual minority men living with HIV who use methamphetamine

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