ArticleSexual health2018
Low levels of chemsex among men who have sex with men, but high levels of risk among men who engage in chemsex: analysis of a cross-sectional online survey across four countries.
Article in Sexual health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 101 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of sexualized drug use and risk of HIV among sexually active MSM in East and South Asian countries: systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2023Pooled it
- Psychological and Interpersonal Factors Associated with Sexualized Drug Use Among Men Who Have Sex with Men: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review.Archives of sexual behavior · 2021Pooled it
- Sexual orientation differences among men in a randomized clinical trial of extended-release naltrexone and bupropion for methamphetamine use disorder.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2023Trial
- Factors Associated with Chemsex Practice Among People Living with HIV in Serbia.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men's Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence in Four Celtic Nations: A Mixed-Method Study.Journal of interpersonal violence · 2026Article
- Sexual Satisfaction in Spanish Same-Sex Couples: Testing the Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- Chemsex Interventions for Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Cureus · 2025Review
- Differences between men who have sex with men that use drugs and engage in chemsex and those who do not engage in chemsex in the French ANRS-PREVENIR cohort: the need to rethink harm reduction services.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2025Article
- Trajectories of Chemsex Engagement Across Time Among PrEP-Using Men Who Have Sex with Men: Results from the French ANRS-Prévenir Cohort.International journal of sexual health : official journal of the World Association for Sexual Health · 2025Article
- "Navigating Risk and Responsibility?": A Mixed-Methods Study Addressing Stigma and Well-Being Among Men Who Have 'Sex on Chems' with Other Men in the English Midlands.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Assessing the Effectiveness of an mHealth Intervention to Support Men Who Have Sex With Men Engaging in Chemsex (Budd): Single-Case and Pre-Post Experimental Design Study.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- The "Chemsex" Phenomenon and Its Relationship with Psychological Variables in Men Who Have Sex with Men.Archives of sexual behavior · 2024Article
- Chemsex Session Typologies and Associated Sociodemographic Factors in Sexual Minority Men: Latent Class Analysis From a Cultural Perspective Using a Cross-Sectional Survey.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Article
- "I Can't Get No Satisfaction"-Psychosocial Aspects and Awareness of Negative Impacts in Chemsex Users: Results from an Anonymous Online Survey.Brain sciences · 2024Article
- Types of psychoactive substance and manifested risky sexual behaviors among men - a review.Postepy psychiatrii neurologii · 2024Review
- The Empire of Affectivity: Qualitative Evidence of the Subjective Orgasm Experience.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Can platform use patterns be an indicator of HIV-related risk and sub-group heterogeneity among men who have sex with men in Singapore: a latent class analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Descriptive study on substance uses and risk of sexually transmitted infections in the practice of Chemsex in Spain.Frontiers in public health · 2024Observational
- An mHealth-Delivered Sexual Harm Reduction Tool (PartyPack) for Men Who Have Sex With Men in Malaysia: Usability Study.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Chemsex and Sexual Well-Being in Young Polish Men.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Background This paper establishes the prevalence of chemsex drug use among men who have sex with men (MSM), the extent to which these drugs are used in a sexual context, as well as their associated behaviours and circumstances of use.
methodsData from a cross-sectional, online survey of 2328 MSM recruited via gay sociosexual media in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were analysed.
resultsWhile almost half (48.8%) of participants had ever taken illicit drugs, lifetime chemsex drug use was less common (18.0%) and far fewer reported chemsex drug use in the last year (8.2%) or last 4 weeks (3.0%). Just over one-quarter (27.1%) of men who used chemsex drugs in the last year reported no sexualised drug use, but almost three-quarters (72.9%) did. Only 6.1% of the whole sample reported sexualised chemsex drug use in the last year. The odds of reporting chemsex in the last year were significantly higher for men aged 36-45 years (AOR=1.96), single men (AOR=1.83), men who were HIV positive (AOR=4.01), men who report high-risk sex (AOR=4.46), being fisted (AOR=7.77) or had sex in exchange for goods other than money (AOR=4.7) in the last year and men who reported an HIV test in the last 3 months (AOR=1.53). DISCUSSION: Only a small proportion of MSM in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland reported chemsex, and, for the first time, it is demonstrated that not all chemsex drug use was sexualised. Nevertheless, MSM who engage in chemsex (MWEC) reported substantial sexual risk inequalities. These novel findings highlight several opportunities for intervention, particularly around the multiple vulnerabilities of MWEC, opportunities for early identification of those most vulnerable to chemsex-related harm and the potential to develop a specialised responsive patient pathway.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.