TY - JOUR
T1 - How Old Is He Really? the Association between "gay Age" and Sexual Behaviors among Men Who Have Sex with Men
AU - Exten, Cara
AU - Vasilenko, Sara A.
AU - Rosenberger, Joshua G.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by awards P50 DA039838 and R01 DA037902 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This research was further supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Grant KL2 TR002015 and Grant UL1 TR002014. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institutes of Health, or the US government.
Publisher Copyright:
© Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
PY - 2023/2/1
Y1 - 2023/2/1
N2 - Background Men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately impacted by HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, with sexual behaviors acting as a primary predictor of disease acquisition. Predictors of engagement in specific sexual behaviors may act as key targets for preventive strategies. We hypothesized that time since first engaging in oral or anal sex with another man, or one's "gay age,"is associated with sexual behavior among MSM. Methods We examined 5280 MSM aged 18 to 40 years who were recruited from social and sexual connection Web sites. We used modified Poisson regression to examine associations between gay age and 4 sexual behaviors (enema use, group sex, receptive anal intercourse, insertive anal intercourse). We used time-varying effect models to examine how the prevalence of these behaviors varies across gay age. Results In total, 76% of participants reported receptive anal intercourse in the past year, and 76% reported insertive anal intercourse. Group sex and enema use in the past year were reported by 39% and 36%, respectively. Modified Poisson and time-varying effect model analyses indicated that the prevalence of enema use, group sex, and insertive anal intercourse significantly increased with increasing gay age. Conclusions Gay age may serve as an important marker of engagement in sexual behaviors associated with sexually transmitted infection/HIV acquisition among MSM.
AB - Background Men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately impacted by HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, with sexual behaviors acting as a primary predictor of disease acquisition. Predictors of engagement in specific sexual behaviors may act as key targets for preventive strategies. We hypothesized that time since first engaging in oral or anal sex with another man, or one's "gay age,"is associated with sexual behavior among MSM. Methods We examined 5280 MSM aged 18 to 40 years who were recruited from social and sexual connection Web sites. We used modified Poisson regression to examine associations between gay age and 4 sexual behaviors (enema use, group sex, receptive anal intercourse, insertive anal intercourse). We used time-varying effect models to examine how the prevalence of these behaviors varies across gay age. Results In total, 76% of participants reported receptive anal intercourse in the past year, and 76% reported insertive anal intercourse. Group sex and enema use in the past year were reported by 39% and 36%, respectively. Modified Poisson and time-varying effect model analyses indicated that the prevalence of enema use, group sex, and insertive anal intercourse significantly increased with increasing gay age. Conclusions Gay age may serve as an important marker of engagement in sexual behaviors associated with sexually transmitted infection/HIV acquisition among MSM.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85146193627&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85146193627&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000001728
DO - 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000001728
M3 - Article
C2 - 36630417
AN - SCOPUS:85146193627
SN - 0148-5717
VL - 50
SP - 107
EP - 111
JO - Sexually Transmitted Diseases
JF - Sexually Transmitted Diseases
IS - 2
ER -