ArticleHIV medicine2021
Chems4EU: chemsex use and its impacts across four European countries in HIV-positive men who have sex with men attending HIV services.
Article in HIV medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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
26 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Risks for HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Men Who Have Sex with Men Who Engage in Chemsex in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Mixed Methods Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.AIDS and behavior · 2024Pooled it
- "Chemical Seduction": a narrative review of the complex impact of recreational drugs on sexual function.International journal of impotence research · 2026Review
- Chemsex-associated drug use amongst men and gender-diverse people having sex with men in the UK: Findings from an online community survey, 2024.International journal of STD & AIDS · 2026Article
- Heroin assessment in Spanish population-based studies: a scoping review.Acta neuropsychiatrica · 2026Article
- Chemsex and uptake of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among adult cisgender gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men worldwide: a systematic review with meta-analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Antiviral Drugs in HIV and Cardiovascular Disease: Mechanistic Insights and Clinical Implications.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- High Rates of Drug Use and Chemsex Among PrEP Users and People with HIV in Milan Highlight Need for Targeted Interventions.AIDS and behavior · 2025Article
- Chemsex must not be overlooked in Europe's HIV prevention strategy.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2025Article
- HIV Oral Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Effectiveness, Adherence, and Discontinuation in an Italian Multicentric Access Program: ItaPrEP Study.Open forum infectious diseases · 2025Article
- An online study to understand chemsex in India.Indian journal of psychiatry · 2025Article
- Chemsex, sexualized drug use and emotional vulnerability among men who have sex with men (MSM): a one-month survey in a STI/HIV center.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Chemsex and its impact on gay and bisexual men who have sex with men: Findings from an online survey in Belgium.HIV medicine · 2025Article
- Polydrug use during chemsex: single and intersecting sexual effects of commonly used drugs.Frontiers in public health · 2025Review
- 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
- 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
- Descriptive study on substance uses and risk of sexually transmitted infections in the practice of Chemsex in Spain.Frontiers in public health · 2024Observational
- Predictors of starting and stopping chemsex in men who have sex with men in England: findings from the AURAH2 prospective study.Sexually transmitted infections · 2023Article
- Understanding Sexualized Drug Use: Substances, Reasons, Consequences, and Self-Perceptions among Men Who Have Sex with Other Men in Spain.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
19 authors at 10 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionChemsex in a European context is the use of any of the following drugs to facilitate sex: crystal methamphetamine, mephedrone and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB)/gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) and, to a lesser extent, cocaine and ketamine. This study describes the prevalence of self-reported recreational drug use and chemsex in HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) accessing HIV services in four countries. It also examines the problematic impacts and harms of chemsex and access to chemsex-related services.
methodsThis is a cross-sectional multi-centre questionnaire study of HIV-positive MSM accessing nine HIV services in the UK, Spain, Greece and Italy.
resultsIn all, 1589 HIV-positive MSM attending HIV services in four countries completed the questionnaire. The median age of participants was 38 years (interquartile range: 32-46 years) and 1525 (96.0%) were taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). In the previous 12 months, 709 (44.6%) had used recreational drugs, 382 (24.0%) reported chemsex and 104 (6.5%) reported injection of chemsex-associated drugs ('slamsex'). Of the 382 engaging in chemsex, 155 (40.6%) reported unwanted side effects as a result of chemsex and 81 (21.2%) as a result of withdrawal from chemsex. The reported negative impacts from chemsex were on work (25.1%, 96), friends/family (24.3%, 93) and relationships (28.3%, 108). Fifty-seven (14.9%) accessed chemsex-related services in the past year, 38 of whom (67%) felt the service met their needs. DISCUSSION: A quarter of participants self-reported chemsex in the past 12 months. There were high rates of harms from chemsex across all countries, including negative impacts on work, friends/family and relationships. Although a minority of those engaging in chemsex accessed support, most found this useful.
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