ArticleJMIR public health and surveillance2022
Geosocial Networking Smartphone App Use and High-Risk Sexual Behaviors Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Attending University in China: Cross-sectional Study.
Article in JMIR public health and surveillance, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 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
- Cumulative risk and graded associations with high-risk sexual behaviors among Chinese university students: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Latent class analysis of HIV prevention life skills and influencing factors among university students: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Spatiotemporal heterogeneity and socioeconomic determinants of syphilis incidence in Xining, Northwest China: a geospatial analysis.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Age and Education Disparities in Internalized Homophobia, Social Avoidance, Depressive Symptoms, and Sexualized Drug Use Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in China: A Mediation Analysis.Archives of sexual behavior · 2026Article
- An individual with multiple high-risk links uncovered: an epidemiological investigation based on molecular network analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Article
- Patterns and correlates of casual sexual behavior through the internet and inconsistent condom use among MSM college students in Zhejiang province, China: a cross-sectional study, 2022.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Preferences for HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis among Gay, Bisexual, and Men Who Have Sex with Men in China: a Discrete Choice Experiment.AIDS and behavior · 2025Article
- Condomless Sex and Correlates Among Africans in China: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study Based on Egocentric Network Data.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- Sexual and Psychosocial Risk Burdens Associated With Online Sex Seeking Among Young Men Who Have Sex With Men: Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Spatiotemporal and Behavioral Patterns of Men Who Have Sex With Men Using Geosocial Networking Apps in Shenzhen From Mobile Big Data Perspective: Longitudinal Observational Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Observational
- A cross-sectional investigation of factors influencing mpox vaccine hesitancy for students in Southwest China.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2024Article
- Understanding Motivations for Dating App Use Among Gay and Bisexual Men: Validation, Latent Profile Analysis, and Differences in Health Outcomes.Archives of sexual behavior · 2024Article
- Gay App Use, Sexuality Traits, and High-Risk Sexual Behaviors Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in China: Mediation Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGay apps are smartphone-based geosocial networking apps where many men who have sex with men (MSM) socialize and seek sex partners. Existing studies showed that gay app use is associated with greater odds of high-risk sexual behaviors and potentially more HIV infections. However, little is known about this behavior among young MSM.
objectiveWe conducted this study to understand gay app use and its influencing factors among MSM attending university in China.
methodsFrom January to March 2019, participants were recruited from 4 regions with large populations of college students in China: Chongqing, Guangdong, Shandong, and Tianjin. The eligibility criteria were MSM aged 16 years or older, self-identified as a university student, and being HIV negative. A self-administered online structured questionnaire was used to collect data on sociodemographic information, sexual behaviors, gay app use, substance use, and HIV testing history. We performed multivariable log-binomial regression to assess correlates of seeking sex partners via gay apps.
resultsA total of 447 MSM attending university with an average age of 20.4 (SD 1.5) years were recruited. Almost all participants (439/447, 98.2%) reported gay app use at some point in their life, and 240/439 (53.7%) reported ever seeking sex partners via gay apps. Blued (428/439, 97.5%) was the most popular gay app. Higher proportions of sexual risk behaviors (including seeking sex partners via apps [P<.001], engaging in group sex [P<.001], having multiple sex partners [P<.001], unawareness of sex partners' HIV status [P<.001], and using recreational drugs during sex [P<.02]) were positively associated with the increase in the frequency of gay app use. In multivariable analysis, participants who used gay apps to seek sex partners might be more likely to have multiple sex partners in the past 3 months (adjusted prevalence ratio [APR] 1.53, 95% CI 1.33-1.76; P<.001), engage in group sex in the past 3 months (APR 1.55, 95% CI 1.35-1.78; P<.001), and have sex partners with unknown or positive HIV status (APR 1.72, 95% CI 1.46-2.01; P<.001).
conclusionsSeeking sex partners via gay apps may associate with the increased high-risk sexual behaviors among MSM attending university. The causality between seeking sex partners via gay apps and increased high-risk sexual behaviors should be further investigated so as to inform potential policies for HIV prevention.
trial registrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR1900020645; http://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojen.aspx?proj=34741.
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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.