HIV among MSM in a large middle-income country

Abstract

The AIDS epidemic in Brazil is disproportionately concentrated among MSM, as has been found in other countries. Renewed efforts to encourage testing, prevention and treatment are required.

Vulnerability in the context of HIV and syphilis infection in a population of men who have sex with men (MSM) in Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil

“…It was also lower than the results presented in the last report of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) (42%) 12 and in the Brazilian multicenter study (49%) 3 and other populations of MSM 42 . This is one of the most important indicators for monitoring the HIV epidemic, since it promotes a link between individuals and health services and can be one of the main entry points for healthcare via counseling and support for persons with HIV and other STI, allowing contact with information and preventive measures.…”

“…Thus, prevention and interven- tions targeting MSM should be broad and comprehensive, including social policies aimed at reducing stigma and improving living conditions and access to health services. Among the individual vulnerability factors associated with HIV infection and a positive rapid test for syphilis, MSM in this study had an average age of 25 years old, close to that of the MSM in the ten Brazilian cities study (27.5 years) 3 , but they were younger when compared to MSM in RDS studies in other countries, where the mean age ranged from 30 to 41 years 2,4,25,28,30,31 . This could be considered a recruitment bias in our study, but it might also reflect aspects of the male population in Salvador, with a high proportion in the 15 to 39-year age group according to the 2010 Population Census 32 .…”

“…The study adopted a cross-sectional design in MSM living in these cities 3 . The results presented here are part of the PhD thesis 16 by the article's author and focus on analyses of the vulnerability concept 11 .…”

“…The study's first phase consisted of four focus groups with MSM with different socio-demographic characteristics and sexual identities 3,16 . After identifying the MSM that had wide social networks and that were willing to collaborate with the study, they were invited to be "seeds" in the study, that is, to begin recruiting other participants.…”

“…In Latin America, the highest prevalence rates are in Argentina (9% to 51%), Peru (10% to 22%), Uruguay (22%), Bolivia (21%), Colombia (20%), Mexico (15%), and Paraguay (13%) 2 . In Brazil, recently estimated HIV prevalence rates in MSM ranged from 5.2% to 23.7%, with an average of 14.2% in ten cities 3 , contrasting with the rate in the general population, where estimated prevalence in the 13-49-year age group is 0.6% 4 . Syphilis also shows high prevalence among MSM, and this sexually transmitted infection (STI) is an important biological factor associated with HIV infection 1,2 .…”