AIDS and behavior
June 9, 2025
Chiara Fusetti, Enrico Caruso, Andrea Giacomelli et al.
2 citations
Among 420 respondents attending two STI services in Milan, 40% reported current drug use and 16% engaged in chemsex, with polydrug use common. Cocaine, mephedrone, and MDMA were the most used substances. Over a third of drug users did not disclose their use to healthcare providers, often because clinicians did not ask or patients saw it as irrelevant. Most respondents knew people who used substances, and 90.6% of those perceived an increase in use within their community. The findings suggest a need for greater healthcare provider awareness and stigma-free environments to support risk reduction for chemsex users.
AIDS and behavior
June 1, 2024
Judith T Moskowitz, Brijesh Sharma, Shireen Javandel et al.
2 citations
Older adults with HIV and cognitive impairment who took an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program showed significant improvement in depression symptoms immediately after the program compared to a waitlist control group, but this benefit was not maintained one month later. The MBSR group also reported improved quality of life from the start of the program to the 16-week follow-up. Cognitive performance, including speed of information processing, working memory, attention, and impulsivity, did not differ between the MBSR and control groups. MBSR may help alleviate depression and improve quality of life in older individuals with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder, but sustaining these benefits requires further study.
AIDS and behavior
January 27, 2026
I Pastor, M A Kundro, M Alonso Serena et al.
Among HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) users in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 32% reported engaging in chemsex—the intentional use of psychoactive substances to enhance sexual activity—in the previous year. The most commonly used drugs were MDMA (21%), cocaine (14%), and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (12%); nearly half (48%) used two or more drugs together. Those who practiced chemsex had 3.67 times higher odds of reporting a sexually transmitted infection in the past year, independent of age, time on PrEP, number of sexual partners, or group sex. The findings underscore the need to integrate behavioral assessments and harm reduction into PrEP and sexual health policies.