Trend the prevalence of HIV among men who have sex with men in Hai Phong and some related factors over the 2016 – 2022 period

Abstract

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are a high - risk group for HIV infection in Vietnam. This study aimed to determine the temporal trends and correlates of HIV infection among MSM. Through HIV sentinel surveillances plus behaviors (HSS+), cross - sectional studies were conducted every 2 years from 2016 to
2022 among MSM in Hai Phong. We performed the Cochran-Armitage trend test and logistic regression model to evaluate temporal trends and factors associated with HIV infection. The results showed that over the years, MSM in this study tended to be younger and have sex with other men at an earlier age (p-trend < 0.001). Noticeably, the prevalence of HIV among MSM tended to increase from 2% in 2016 to 10% in 2022 (p-trend < 0.001). The likelihood of HIV infection was found to be higher in the MSM who had an age anal sex debut less than 18 years old (vs. ≥ 18) (OR: 2.27; 95% CI: 1.124 – 4.6), and who had ever group sexual intercourse (OR: 2.47; 95% CI: 1.08 – 5.66). Therefore, appropriate interventions about sex education should be implemented to raise awareness about safe sex and avoid high-risk behaviors, especially for the under-18 group, thereby helping to reduce the HIV prevalence among MSM in Hai Phong.