Prevalence of HIV in men who have sex with men in three Colombian cities. 2010, 2016, 2019

Introduction: Worldwide, around 33.10 million to 45.70 million individuals are infected with HIV, with men who have sex with men (MSM) constituting a significantly affected demographic. Objective: To determine the prevalence of HIV among MSM in three major cities of Colombia and to describe the characteristics of this population, including HIV risk behaviors. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional observational study conducted using secondary data collected from 3 171 adult MSM residing in Bogotá D.C. and the metropolitan areas of Cali and Medellín, as reported in 3 studies conducted at 3 different points in time: 2010, 2016 and 2019. In all studies, participants were recruited by respondent-driven sampling (RDS). HIV prevalences were calculated for the 3 cities/metropolitan areas and the 3 study years, while the chi-square test of independence was used to compare the 3 years in each city/metropolitan area. Results: HIV prevalence over the 3 years ranged from 15.00% to 26.40%, 9.10% to 21.00%, and 15.00% to 23.40 in Bogotá and the metropolitan areas of Medellín and Cali, respectively. Between 27.53% and 58.03% of MSM in the 3 cities/metropolitan areas were younger than 24 years and between 79.28% and 87.68% had a low socioeconomic level (strata 0-3); less than 40.48% reported having a stable male partner; more than 76.81% reported having sex with casual male partners; less than 45.78% claimed to participate in HIV/AIDS information or education activities; less than 33.03% stated having had STIs; and more than 84.45% reported using psychoactive substances, with alcohol and marijuana being the most consumed (92.03-98.53% and 25.1-45.07%). Conclusion: The prevalence of HIV in this population was high in the 3 cities/metropolitan areas during the 3 years analyzed. Furthermore, risk behaviors included a significant use of psychoactive substances and high proportions of MSM who reported not using a condom with their regular partner (male or female) or the last time they had anal intercourse with a casual male partner.