HIV-Positive Men who Use the Internet to Meet Other Men in France: Results from the French “Net Gay Baromètre” Study

International audienceObjectives: With data from this biennial study, we will present some of the HIV-positive respondents’ social and sexual practices and identify predictors of regular unprotected anal intercourse in this group.Method: Men were recruited between January and April 2009 (n = 19 052) through personalized e-mailing on nine major websites for France’s diverse MSM population. Approximately 12 % of the sample was HIV-positive (n = 2229). Bivariate analyses (c2, t-test) as well as simple and multivariate logistic regressions were performed.Results: Compared to HIV-negative men, a significantly greater proportion of HIV-positive respondents were older, identified as homosexual, resided in the Paris metropolitan area, and were active members of the gay community. In particular, more HIV-positive men went to sex clubs, outdoor sex venues, and saunas in the previous 12 months. Drug use over this period of time was also more prevalent among HIV-positive men and this latter group had twice as many sexual partners as HIV-negative men. A significantly greater number of HIV-positive men reported regularly engaging in unprotected anal sex and about three times as many of them had “barebacked” in the past 12 months, compared to HIV-negative men: HIV-negative men engaged in less serosorting. The multivariate regression analysis found that regularly engaging in unprotected anal sex was significantly associated in HIV-positive men with the following factors: residing in the Paris metropolitan area, having more than 11 casual partners in the previous 12 months, meeting casual partners online, using dating websites for MSM that feature “hard” sexual practices, using drugs in the past 12 months, having contracted an STI over this period of time, not having been tested for HIV over this same period of time, engaging in bareback sex with a couple, having been in contact with a partner’s sperm during oral sex, engaging in group sex, and practicing fist fucking.Conclusion: This online survey reached many HIV-positive respondents. Overall, these men seem to be more exposed to some risk factors. This can be explained by positive HIV status but this could also be explained by sensation seeking, by a taste for risk, as well as by a disinterest in preventive strategies

A Portrait of Quebec Baby Boomers who Use the Internet to Meet Men for Sexual Purposes Based on Data from the Quebec “Net Gay Baromètre” Study

International audienceObjective: The online survey, “Net Gay Baromètre”, provides a portrait of men visiting websites for gay men to meet and can help describe their sexuality with casual and regular partners and guide prevention activities accordingly. Respondents of the baby boomer generation are described here.Method: Men were recruited between January and April, 2008 (n = 3560), through personalized e-mailing on nine major websites that are representative of the socio-sexual diversity of the French MSM population. Baby boomers (1945 > 1964) account for 26.1 % of the sample (n = 928). Bivariate analyses (χ2, t tests) as well as simple and multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted.Results : Compared with younger men, baby boomers are more educated and have a higher income. More of these men self-define as bisexual, report having been the victim of insults, frequent the gay community less often, and use sex venues (saunas, cruising spaces, etc.). Fewer baby boomers are in a committed relationship, more are HIV-positive.They are also sexually active, reporting as many casual sex partners as younger men in the past twelve months. They are more often in non-monogamous relationships. They also take part in sex involving the exchange of money more frequently. However, boomers engage in less unprotected anal intercourse for all frequency levels and have less bareback sex and anal exposure to sperm.Multivariate analyses show that regular unprotected anal intercourse, which is practiced by 16.5% of this group (vs. 21.1% among younger men), is associated with self-identifying as homosexual, taking drugs at least once, frequenting a sex venue, having had more than ten casual partners in the previous twelve months, engaging in marginal sexual practices, and having had oral contact with sperm over the same period.Conclusion: Baby boomers are often overlooked as a group in behavioural surveys of men who have sex with men. Our findings suggest that they are less integrated into the gay community and live alone more often than younger groups. Even though they are less frequently involved in risky sexual practices, predictors of regular risk-taking in this group overlap with those of the global sample