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Characterizing Men Who Have Sex with Men and Use Injection Drugs in Vancouver, Canada

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Abstract

We examined factors associated with reporting sex with men among men who inject drugs in Vancouver, Canada. Data were drawn from three open prospective cohorts of people who use drugs between 2005 and 2014. Generalized estimating equations were used to identify factors associated with reporting non-transactional sex with men (MSM) in the previous 6 months. Of 1663 men who used injection drugs, 225 (13.5%) were MSM over the study period. Sex with men was independently associated with younger age [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 0.96], childhood sexual abuse (AOR = 2.65), sex work (AOR = 3.33), crystal methamphetamine use (AOR = 1.30), borrowing used syringes (AOR = 1.39), inconsistent condom use (AOR = 1.76), and HIV seropositivity (AOR = 3.82). MSM were less likely to be Hepatitis C-positive (AOR = 0.43) and to have accessed addiction treatment in the previous 6 months (AOR = 0.83) (all p < 0.05). Findings highlight vulnerabilities and resiliencies among MSM-PWID and indicate a need for trauma-informed and affirming harm reduction and substance use treatment services for MSM-PWID.

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Notes

  1. “MSM” is the term that is most likely to be used when searching literature databases, and sex with men is our primary outcome variable, and thus we have chosen to use this term for the purpose of presenting this analysis. Nevertheless, we recognize the term “MSM” has limitations, including that it tends to lead to a focus on proximal determinants of risk (e.g., behavior) while disregarding other considerations (e.g., sexual identity).

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the study participants for their contribution to the research, as well as current and past researchers and staff. The study was supported by the US National Institutes of Health (U01DA038886; U01-DA021525). Dr. Ayden Scheim is supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship. Dr. Rod Knight is supported by a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) Scholar Award. Dr. Kanna Hayashi is supported by a CIHR New Investigator Award (MSH-141971), a MSFHR Scholar Award and the St. Paul’s Foundation. Dr. M-J Milloy is supported by the United States National Institutes of Health (U01-DA0251525), a New Investigator Award from CIHR, and a MSFHR Scholar Award. His institution has received an unstructured gift from NG Biomed, Ltd., a private firm seeking a license to produce cannabis, to support him. Dr. Kora DeBeck is supported by a MSFHR/St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation–Providence Health Care Career Scholar Award and a Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Ayden Scheim

  2. Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Ayden Scheim

  3. British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Rod Knight, Hennady Shulha, Ekaterina Nosova, Kanna Hayashi & M.-J. Milloy

  4. Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

    Kanna Hayashi

  5. Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Rod Knight, M.-J. Milloy & Thomas Kerr

  6. School of Public Policy, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Kora DeBeck

  7. British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, 400 - 1045 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2A9, Canada

    Kora DeBeck

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  1. Ayden Scheim
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Correspondence to Kora DeBeck.

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Scheim, A., Knight, R., Shulha, H. et al. Characterizing Men Who Have Sex with Men and Use Injection Drugs in Vancouver, Canada. AIDS Behav 23, 3324–3330 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-019-02605-6

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