Relationship between quality of life and unprotected anal intercourse among Chinese men who have sex with men: a cross-sectional study

HIV epidemics have been declining in many countries and in various populations, yet the incidence is increasing within men who have sex with men (MSM) population in most countries, including China [1‐3]. Although the national HIV sentinel surveillance data showed that the HIV-positive rate of risk groups, including injection drug users, female sex workers, and pregnant women, have dropped somewhat or maintained a low level, the rate among Chinese MSM has increased by more than 8 fold from 0.9 % in 2003 to 7.3 % in 2013 [4]. Furthermore, of newly diagnosed cases of HIV/AIDS each year, the percentage of male homosexually transmitted cases has increased from 2.5 % in 2006 to 21.4 % in 2013 [4]. Thus, MSM remains an important driver of Chinese HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Globally, unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) has been indicated as a major risk behavior for HIV infection among MSM [5‐9]. Meta-analysis of 82 studies showed that the UAI rate was 53 % among Chinese MSM, and the high rate may result in a serious HIV epidemic [10]. Previous studies have suggested that intervention efforts aimed at reducing UAI may facilitate a reduction in HIV transmission [11, 12]. Such factors, including mental issue [13], substance or alcohol use [14], HIV knowledge [15], social stigma and support [16], have been proven determinants of UAI. Wim et al. reported that having a history of mental health problems, such as depressive symptoms, was associated with higher rates of UAI and HIV transmission among MSM [13, 17]. A study on MSM showed that less-supportive social relationship was related to higher rates of unsafe sex [16]. And taking various influencing factors on HIV-risk behavior into account for proposing intervention strategies could produce more sustained reduction in HIV transmission among MSM [7, 18, 19]. Thus, surveying mental health and social roles, which are important aspects of quality of life (QOL) [20], should be of great concern for intervention aimed at reducing the risk of HIV [9].

Quality of life (QOL) is regarded as a good measure of overall health [21]. Previous studies on QOL have been conducted among MSM population, and indicated that surveying the QOL of the MSM can inform us of their physical, psychological, cognitive and social functions according to the individuals’ perceptions their health [22‐24]. Dey et al. also suggest that the association between QOL and health-risk behavior, including UAI, cigarette smoking, cannabis use, may provide insight into the reasons why a person may engage in these particular behaviors [25]. And Bouhnik et al. observed that poor mental health-related QOL was associated with UAI in French HIV-infected gay men [23].

In the present study, the brief version of World Health Organization quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF) was used to assess the QOL. WHOQOL-BREF is an international cross-culturally comparable quality of life assessment instrument to assess the whole health conditions [26], and this scale not only provides a direct quantitative indication of the physical and mental health states, but also provides information about social relationships and environment [27]. There have been several studies on evaluating QOL of MSM using WHOQOL-BREF [20, 28]. The Chinese version of WHOQOL-BREF has proven reliable and valid among MSM population [29, 30].

The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between QOL and UAI within the Chinese MSM population, and provide the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with some suggestion on UAI intervention to reduce the HIV transmission among MSM.

50.3 % of subjects reported having UAI. This result is comparable to the reported rates of UAI in Chinese MSM (53 %, 95 % CI: 51 to 56 %) and in MSM in 21 US cities (54 %) [10, 31]. Our study found that psychological health and social relationships as two out of four domains of QOL were statistically significant factors of UAI among MSM in our study. The reliability and validity of the WHOQOL-BREF were acceptable. Univariate analysis showed that lower PSYCH and SOCIL subscale scores were significantly related to UAI (P-value <0.05). And the older MSM and being married were associated with UAI respectively (P-value <0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that PSYCH (AOR = 0.979; 95 % CI: 0.961 to 0.998) and age 45 or more (AOR 3.986, 95 % CI 1.199-13.255) were independent factors influencing UAI in Chinese MSM (P-value <0.05).

In line with other studies, we found that poor psychological health was significantly associated with engaging in UAI (P-value <0.05) [9, 23]. More specifically, the lower scores of the items “Negative feelings”, “Hopeness on your life”, and “Be able to concentrate” were determinants of UAI, respectively (P-value <0.05). Due to experiencing discrimination about sexual orientation by family and other institutions, many Chinese MSM had encountered stigma, which led to mood, anxiety disorders and depression more common in MSM than in men in the general population [32, 33]. Moreover, increasing evidence has shown that compared to heterosexuals, gays exhibited elevations in hopelessness caused by the stressors that sexual minorities confront [34‐36]. Safren et al. also indicated that mental health problems may compromise the impact of HIV prevention programs [37]. Behavioral interventions combined with mental health treatment have been shown to increase the effectiveness of reducing UAI and HIV prevention programs among MSM and HIV-infected individuals [37‐39]. And previous studies implied that community-based or structural interventions that reduce sexual minority prejudices, in combination with individual-based interventions that address negative beliefs about life, may help to alleviate the high rates of mental health problems among MSM [34, 37]. Our results suggest that improving psychological health is an aspect that should be incorporated into UAI reduction-intervention strategies to facilitate HIV prevention among Chinese MSM.

Our study also showed that weaker social relationships were associated with a higher likelihood of practicing UAI in the MSM population (P-value <0.05). Given homosexuality is generally viewed as unacceptable in Chinese culture, MSM tend to report more social isolation, and avoid entering close relationships for fear of others’ discovering their sex orientation, which led this population to limited access to the public health care system aimed at gay community [34, 40, 41]. Previous study also suggested that sexual risk prevention interventions should take addressing their capacity to build adequate and supportive social relationships into account to enhance HIV prevention programs among MSM population [16]. Furthermore, we also found that lower score of the “Satisfy with your sex life” item which included in the SOCIL domain was significantly related to engaging UAI. Tsui et al. also found that lack of sexual pleasure was significantly associated with UAI among MSM in Shenzhen and HongKong [42]. A study on HIV-positive MSM showed that sex toy users reported higher levels of sexual satisfaction, and suggested that the effect of sex toys as tools on enhancing sexual pleasure and reducing HIV transmission should be explored in further studies [43].

Our results also found that older Chinese MSM were more likely to engage in UAI than younger MSM, which is consistent with several other studies of Chinese MSM [44, 45]. In addition, according to the national report on HIV/AIDS cases, new HIV cases among the higher age group increased noticeably [4, 46]. There could be several reasons to explain why the UAI rate of Chinese older MSM was higher. Firstly, few HIV intervention efforts aimed at reducing UAI have focused on older MSM, for the inaccurate belief that older men are not sexually active [45]. Secondly, ageism and homosexual stigma could cause older MSM to hide their homosexual activity, thus increasing the difficulty of reaching them by prevention intervention [47, 48]. Thus, targeted interventions on reducing UAI in this HIV-risk subgroup could be of great need.

In sum, UAI intervention programs targeting MSM need to be evidence-based and would benefit from sound research support. Our study also had some limitations. Firstly, random sampling was not performed, and the sampling was venue based in this study. Secondly, the study was conducted in only two Chinese cities, and the results may not be representative of all, or even most, Chinese MSM. And in our study, the questionnaire in which more than 20 % of items were left unanswered was considered to be invalid. 15 % of the respondents only completed below 80 % of the questionnaires, probably because they may be not willing to expose their personal information, such as age, sexual behavior. This may be why nearly 15 % of surveys did not meet the criteria of "valid". Further studies in more areas of China will determine whether these findings can be generalized.

Poorer psychological health and social relationships, as the important aspects of QOL, were found in the present study to be associated with higher likelihood of engaging in UAI, and psychological health played a larger role. It therefore appears necessary to incorporate improved psychological health into future intervention strategies to prevent UAI in MSM.