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Prior research has documented the ways in which financial hardships negatively impact health, particularly mental health. However, this association between financial hardships and mental health outcomes has rarely been examined in sexual minorities. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between financial hardships and mental health burdens among a sample of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM) in Paris, France. Participants (n = 580) completed a cross-sectional survey advertised on a geosocial networking application. Participants responded to measures of mental health, financial hardship, and socio-demographics. Modified Poisson models were used to estimate risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations between financial hardship and the following outcomes: 1) depressive symptoms, 2) anxiety symptoms, and 3) psychological distress. After adjusting for socio-demographics, high financial hardships were associated with depressive symptoms (aRR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.04, 2.11) and psychological distress (aRR: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.09, 2.23). Analyses also demonstrated that stress acts as a mediating variable. These preliminary results suggest that future interventions to reduce financial hardships may have positive effects on the mental health of such a population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been demonstrated that sexual minority men (SMM) participate in sexting. While research has shown that engagement in the exchange of sexually explicit media is associated with poor health outcomes, no previous research has investigated its association with sleep health outcomes. This study sought to examine the association between sexually explicit media and sleep health among SMM, a population that suffers from poor sleep health. A popular geosocial networking application was used to recruit SMM individuals (N = 580) in the Paris, France, metropolitan area. Multivariate analyses, adjusting for sociodemographics, were used to test the association between the frequency of sexually explicit messaging and three dimensions of sleep health: (1) sleep quality, (2) sleep duration, and (3) two aspects of sleep problems. In multivariate analyses, those who reported engaging in sexually explicit messaging more were more likely to report getting less than seven hours of sleep (aRR = 1.24; 95% CI = 1.08, 1.43) compared with those who reported engaging in sexually explicit messaging less. No significant associations were found between sexting and sleep quality or reporting sleep problems. Sexually explicit messaging was associated with shorter sleep duration. Intervention targeted at individuals who sext could potentially improve sleep health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This study explored the relationships between participation in group sex and risk for HIV and other sexually transmissible infections (STIs).Methods: An anonymous online survey collected data from 580 gay and bisexual men using a mobile sex and dating application in Paris, France. Logistic regression analyses were conducted, which controlled for HIV status, HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use and participants' sociodemographic characteristics.Results: Compared with men with no recent group sex experience, those reporting group sex in the 3 months before the survey (30.7% of the sample) were more likely to have had condomless receptive anal sex at least once in the same period [adjusted odds ratio (aOR)=1.6, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.1-2.4, P = 0.02], condomless insertive anal sex (aOR=2.0, 95%CI: 2.4-8.7, P < 0.001) and substance use before or during sex (aOR=1.6, 95%CI: 1.1-2.3, P = 0.02). Even when controlling for condom use, men involved with group sex were more likely to be have been diagnosed with a bacterial STI in the previous year (aOR=2.1, 95%CI: 1.3-3.3, P = 0.002).Conclusions: Group sex remains a useful marker of risk among gay and bisexual men, but research is needed that moves beyond individual practice in order to assess the epidemiological networks comprising group sex and the risks they pose relevant to HIV and other STIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]