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Objectives. We sought to determine incidence of, prevalence of, and risk factors for sexual orientation — related physical assault in young men who have sex with men (MSM). Methods. We completed a prospective open cohort study of young MSM in Vancouver, British Columbia, surveyed annually between 1995 and 2004. Correlates of sexual orientation — related physical assault before enrollment were identified with logistic regression. Risk factors for incident assaults were determined with Cox regression. Results. At enrollment, 84 (16%) of 521 MSM reported ever experiencing assault related to actual or perceived sexual orientation. Incidence was 2.3 per 100 person-years; cumulative incidence at 6-year follow-up was 10.8 per 100 person-years. Increased risk of incident sexual orientation — related physical assault was observed among MSM 23 years or younger (relative hazard = 3.1; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.6, 5.8), Canadian Aboriginal people (relative hazard = 3.0; 95% CI = 1.4, 6.2), and those who previously experienced such assault (relative hazard = 2.5; 95% CI = 1.3, 4.8). Conclusions. These data underscore the need for increased public awareness, surveillance, and support to reduce assault against young MSM. Such efforts should be coordinated at the community level to ensure that social norms dictate that such acts are unacceptable. (Am J Public Health. 2008;98:1028-1035. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2007.122705) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compared sexual risk behaviors of men who have sex with men and inject drugs (MSM/IDU) with those of other men who have sex with men (MSM). Of 910 MSM surveyed, 106 (12%) injected drugs in the previous year. MSM/IDU were younger than MSM and more likely to be HIV-seropositive, Aboriginal, economically disadvantaged, engaged in the trade of sex for money or drugs, and to report having female sexual partners. MSM/IDU reported more casual sexual partners and in multivariate analyses were twice as likely to report unprotected receptive anal intercourse with casual partners. These results, combined with those from previous analyses, suggest that the higher risk for HIV seroconversion among MSM/IDU in this cohort is attributable mainly to sexual rather than injection-related exposures. Controlled assessments are needed to identify optimal sexual risk reduction strategies for MSM/IDU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study that aims to develop and field test a set of illustrated instructions for self-collection of anorectal swab specimens and their adequacy in screening anal cancer precursors and sexually transmitted rectal infections in men. Considering the 222 self- and clinician-collected swabs from HIV-1 seronegative men who have sex with men, most specimens are found to be adequate for cytologic screening and imply the adequacy of the illustrated instructions.