Factors Associated with Cessation or Reduction of Methamphetamine Use among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men (gbMSM) in Vancouver Canada.
Brooke Cheng, Jordan M Sang, Zishan Cui, Nicanor Bacani, Heather L Armstrong, Julia Zhu, Julius Elefante, Gbolahan Olarewaju, Kiffer G Card, Everett Blackwell, Nathan J Lachowsky, Robert S Hogg, Eric A Roth, David M Moore
Author Information
Brooke Cheng: Faculty of Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. ORCID
Jordan M Sang: British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada. ORCID
Zishan Cui: British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada. ORCID
Nicanor Bacani: British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Heather L Armstrong: Psychology Department, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. ORCID
Julia Zhu: British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Julius Elefante: St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Gbolahan Olarewaju: British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Kiffer G Card: University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada. ORCID
Everett Blackwell: St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Nathan J Lachowsky: British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada. ORCID
Robert S Hogg: British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada. ORCID
Eric A Roth: University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada. ORCID
David M Moore: British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada. ORCID
Methamphetamine (MA) use among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) is a pervasive issue, associated with detrimental health outcomes. We identified factors associated with discontinuation or reduction in MA among a subset of gbMSM reporting frequent (at least weekly) use, with a specific focus on symptoms of anxiety and depression. We recruited sexually-active gbMSM aged ≥16 years in Vancouver, Canada into a prospective-cohort study using respondent-driven sampling. Participants completed study visits once every six months. We used generalized linear mixed models to identify factors associated with reductions in MA use following a visit where participants previously reported using MA at least weekly. Of 584 cohort participants with at least one follow-up visit, 67 (11.5%) reported frequent MA use at baseline or in follow-up visits. Of these, 46 (68.7%) had at least one subsequent study visit where they transitioned to less frequent (monthly or less) or no MA use. In multivariable models, reduced MA use was less likely for those who spent >50% of social time with other gbMSM (aRR = 0.49, 95%CI:0.28-0.85), gave or received drugs in exchange for sex (aRR = 0.34, 95%CI:0.13-0.87), injected drugs (aRR = 0.35, 95%CI:0.18-0.68), or used gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) (aRR = 0.41, 95%CI:0.21-0.78). Symptoms of anxiety or depression were not associated with reductions in MA use. Social connection and drug-related factors surrounding MA use were associated with reductions, but anxiety and depressive symptomatology were not. Incorporating socialization and polysubstance-related components with MA reduction may help in developing efficacious interventions toward reducing MA use for gbMSM.
