The Association of HIV and Syphilis among Men Who Have Sex with Men: An Integrated Biological and Behavioral Survey

https://doi.org/10.33860/jik.v17i4.3504

Authors

  • Dine Dyan Indriani Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, West Java, Indonesia
  • Mondastri K. Sudaryo Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, West Java, Indonesia

Keywords:

HIV, Syphilis, MSM

Abstract

Increasing rates of syphilis in diverse geographical settings demand that people should have a heightened awareness of syphilis, especially in high-risk patients, including those who are MSM contracting HIV-positive. This study aimed to assess the association of HIV and syphilis among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Depok and Bogor using an Integrated Biological and Behavioral Survey 2018/2019. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 750 eligible participants. Inclusion criteria: MSM living in study location, aged over 15, and had sexual relations with men at least once in the previous year. A prevalence ratio was obtained through multivariate Cox regression analysis. This study found that 11.3% of subjects were identified as having syphilis, and 20.1% were declared positive for HIV. The final model evidence a PR value of 2.46; 1.59-3.81 with a p-value of 0.00 for the risk of MSM infected with HIV to develop syphilis. Overall, HIV has a statistically significant relationship with the incidence of syphilis after being adjusted by the use of condoms with non-permanent partners and STI screening. Integrated intervention techniques, HIV testing, and enhanced awareness are required to reduce HIV, syphilis, and co-infection; targeting MSM and other vulnerable groups is in urge.

References

WHO. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) [Internet]. WHO. 2023 [cited 2024 Jan 11]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sexually-transmitted-infections-(stis)

Van Gerwen OT, Muzny CA, Marrazzo JM. Sexually transmitted infections and female reproductive health. Vol. 7, Nature Microbiology. Nature Research; 2022. p. 1116–26.

Solomon MM, Mayer KH. Evolution of the syphilis epidemic among men who have sex with men. Vol. 12, Sexual Health. CSIRO; 2015. p. 96–102.

Abara WE, Hess KL, Fanfair RN, Bernstein KT, Paz-Bailey G. Syphilis trends among men who have sex with men in the United States and Western Europe: A systematic review of trend studies published between 2004 and 2015. Vol. 11, PLoS ONE. Public Library of Science; 2016.

CDC. Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance [Internet]. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. 2021 [cited 2024 Jan 11]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/std/statistics/2021/default.htm

Tsuboi M, Evans J, Davies EP, Rowley J, Korenromp EL, Clayton T, et al. Prevalence of syphilis among men who have sex with men: a global systematic review and meta-analysis from 2000–20. Lancet Glob Health. 2021 Aug 1;9(8):e1110–8.

Mahmud S, Mohsin M, Muyeed A, Islam MM, Hossain S, Islam A. Prevalence of HIV and syphilis and their co-infection among men having sex with men in Asia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Heliyon. 2023 Mar 1;9(3).

Ribeiro A, Trevizol A, Oluwoye O, McPherson S, McDonell MG, Briese V, et al. HIV and syphilis infections and associated factors among patients in treatment at a specialist alcohol, tobacco, and drugs center in São Paulo’s “cracolândia”. Trends Psychiatry Psychother. 2020 Jan 1;42(1):1–6.

Buchacz K, Patel P, Taylor M, Kerndt PR, Byers RH, Holmberg SD, et al. Syphilis increases HIV viral load and decreases CD4 cell counts in HIV-infected patients with new syphilis infections. AIDS. 2004 Oct 21;18(15):2075–9.

Kementerian Kesehatan. Executive Report on The Development of HIV AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections Diseases in 2022 [Internet]. 2022 [cited 2024 Jan 11]. Available from: https://siha.kemkes.go.id/portal/files_upload/Laporan_TW_3_2022.pdf

Kawi N, Sihotang E, Nisa T, Hui B, Causer L, Januraga P, et al. Incidence and risk factors for syphilis infection among men who have sex with men: A cohort study from an urban sexual health clinic in Jakarta, Indonesia. Int J STD AIDS [Internet]. 2022 [cited 2024 Jan 11];33(12):1065–72. Available from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09564624221125079?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed

Colby D, Nguyen NA, Le B, Toan T, Thien DD, Huyen HT, et al. HIV and Syphilis Prevalence Among Transgender Women in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. AIDS Behav. 2016 Dec 1;20:379–85.

Prabawanti C, Bollen L, Palupy R, Morineau G, Girault P, Mustikawati DE, et al. HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and sexual risk behavior among transgenders in Indonesia. AIDS Behav. 2011 Apr;15(3):663–73.

Pham QD, Nguyen TV, Hoang CQ, Cao V, Khuu N Van, Phan HTT, et al. Prevalence of HIV/STIs and associated factors among men who have sex with men in An Giang, Vietnam. Sex Transm Dis. 2012;39(10):799–806.

Muessig KE, Tucker JD, Wang BX, Chen XS. HIV and syphilis among men who have sex with men in China: The time to act is now. Vol. 37, Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 2010. p. 214–6.

Chen L, Yang J, Ma Q, Pan X. Prevalence of active syphilis infection and risk factors among HIV-positive MSM in Zhejiang, China in 2015: A cross-sectional study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 May 1;16(9).

Ekouevi DK, Bitty-Anderson AM, Gbeasor-Komlanvi FA, Konu YR, Sewu EK, Salou M, et al. Low prevalence of syphilis infection among key populations in Togo in 2017: A national cross-sectional survey. Archives of Public Health. 2019 Sep 5;77(1).

Duy Pham Q, Vu Nguyen T, Duy Nguyen P, Hoang Le S, Tho Tran A, Thanh Nguyen L, et al. Men who have sex with men in southern Vietnam report high levels of substance use and sexual risk behaviours but underutilise HIV testing services: a cross-sectional study. Sex Transm Infect [Internet]. 2015;91(3):178–82. Available from: http://sti.bmj.com/

National Institutes of Health. What factors make HIV more likely? [Internet]. US Department of Health and Human Services. 2023. Available from: https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/hiv/conditioninfo/factors

CDC. Detailed STD Facts - Syphilis [Internet]. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. 2023 [cited 2024 Jan 11]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/stdfact-syphilis-detailed.htm#:~:text=In%20the%20United%20States%2C%20about,P%26S%20syphilis%20also%20have%20HIV.&text=Additionally%2C%20MSM%20who%20are%20HIV,get%20HIV%20in%20the%20future.&text=Genital%20sores%20caused%20by%20syphilis,and%20acquire%20HIV%20infection%20sexually.

Refugio ON, Klausner JD. Syphilis incidence in men who have sex with men with human immunodeficiency virus comorbidity and the importance of integrating sexually transmitted infection prevention into HIV care. Vol. 16, Expert Review of Anti-Infective Therapy. Taylor and Francis Ltd; 2018. p. 321–31.

Burchell AN, Allen VG, Gardner SL, Moravan V, Tan D, Grewal R, et al. High incidence of diagnosis with syphilis co-infection among men who have sex with men in an HIV cohort in Ontario, Canada. BMC Infect Dis. 2015 Aug 1;15(1).

Eaton LA, Kalichman SC, Cain DN, Cherry C, Stearns HL, Amaral CM, et al. Serosorting Sexual Partners and Risk for HIV Among Men Who Have Sex with Men. Am J Prev Med. 2007 Dec;33(6):479–85.

Published

2024-02-03

How to Cite

Indriani, D. D., & Sudaryo, M. K. (2024). The Association of HIV and Syphilis among Men Who Have Sex with Men: An Integrated Biological and Behavioral Survey . Poltekita : Jurnal Ilmu Kesehatan, 17(4), 1173–1181. https://doi.org/10.33860/jik.v17i4.3504

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 4 (2024): February

Section

Original Articles
Copyright & Licensing
Copyright (c) 2024 Dine Dyan Indriani, Mondastri K. Sudaryo

Authors who publish with Poltekita : Jurnal Ilmu Kesehatan agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.

Poltekita : Jurnal Ilmu Kesehatan  is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License

You are free to:

  • Adapt, remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
  • The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.