SynthesisBMC public health2019
Comparison of the prevalence rates of HIV infection between men who have sex with men (MSM) and men in the general population in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
62 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- HIV prevalence in transgender women and cisgender men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa.AIDS (London, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Prevalence of gonococcal and chlamydial infections among men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Trends in HIV testing, the treatment cascade, and HIV incidence among men who have sex with men in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The lancet. HIV · 2023Pooled it
- HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men, transgender women and cisgender male sex workers in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- Willingness of volunteers in an HIV incidence cohort to participate in a future HIV vaccine trial in Kisumu County, Kenya.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Stigma, privacy concerns, sexual behaviors, and testing history shape willingness to use HIV self-testing among African refugee men engaged in sex work in Italy - a mixed method study-BGSH-023.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Beyond protection: navigating biomedical HIV prevention and risk compensation in MSM, 2018-2024.AIDS research and therapy · 2026Article
- Adaptation of Inuka coaching problem-solving therapy to support mental health and HIV medication adherence among status-neutral men who have sex with men in South Africa.International health · 2026Article
- Evaluating the impact of achieving cascade equality in Eswatini: a modeling study on the prevention impacts of antiretroviral therapy.AIDS (London, England) · 2026Article
- Behavioral and structural drivers of HIV in men who have sex with men in Belize: a mixed-methods study.Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2026Article
- "At the end of the day I'd still have to use a condom!": A qualitative investigation of use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among young gay and bisexual men in Nairobi, Kenya.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- High prevalence of bacterial STI, anal HPV, cytological abnormalities and anal lesions among MSM in Togo, 2021: a baseline analysis of the ANRS I MIE 12,400/DepIST-H cohort.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Observational
- Factors that influence communication between healthcare providers and sexual minority men in HIV service delivery in Zambia.AIDS care · 2025Article
- Evaluating machine learning algorithms for predicting HIV status among young Thai men who have sex with men.BMJ health & care informatics · 2025Article
- Toward an understanding of sexual minority women's social stressors and health in post-communist countries in Europe: a scoping review.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Predictors of Acute HCV Incidence in People with HIV: Insights from a Long-term Cohort Study.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2025Article
- Bisexuality among Men who have Sex with Men in Sub-Saharan Africa: Findings from the HPTN 075 Study.AIDS and behavior · 2025Article
- Mpox and Viral Co-Infections: A Narrative Review.Health science reports · 2025Article
- HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa: excessive focus on heterosexual vaginal intercourse.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAccording to the 2015 report of the Joint United Nations Program on Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), the prevalence rates of HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) varied from 6 to 37% depending on the country, far exceeding the national prevalence rates. The present study on HIV infection among men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa was conducted to describe the different sampling methods used to identify this target population and compare the prevalence rates of HIV infection among MSM to that of men in the general population.
methodsThe selection of studies to be included was carried out in the principal electronic databases. The 2009 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) directives were used throughout the entire process. Bias evaluation was performed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. For each country, HIV prevalence values in both groups were calculated. A prevalence ratio was also calculated to compare the prevalence rates of the two groups.
resultsSeventeen articles were selected. Most of the studies (82.35%) used the Respondent-Driven Sampling method. The average prevalence rate was 17.81% (range: 3.7-33.46) for MSM and 6.15% (range: 0.5-19.7) for men in the general population. Overall, the human HIV prevalence rate was 4.94 times higher among MSM than among men in the general population (95%CI: 2.91-8.37). The western and central regions of Africa, as well as low-prevalence countries (prevalence < 1%), had very high prevalence ratios: 14.47 (95% CI: 9.90-21.13) and 28.49 (95% CI: 11.47-72.71), respectively.
conclusionMSM are at higher risk of HIV infection than men in the general population. The prevalence ratios are particularly elevated in West and Central Africa as well as in low-prevalence countries. Close monitoring of the situation, research and preventive measures are essential to control the epidemic amongst MSM.
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