Comparing Sexual Network Mean Active Degree Measurement Metrics Among Men Who Have Sex With Men.

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Network Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Mean active degree is a key measure of network connectivity in HIV/STI research.
• No studies have compared mean degree measurement methods for US men who have sex with men (MSM) using cross-sectional data.
• This study compares ongoing partnership data (current method) with first/last sex dates (retrospective method).

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare two methods for measuring mean active degree in a cross-sectional study of MSM.
• To assess the impact of data truncation on mean degree estimation.
• To identify the most reliable method for network analysis in HIV/STI epidemiology.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the ARTnet survey of MSM in the US (2017-2019).
• Compared mean degree estimates from ongoing partnerships (current method) versus partnership dates (retrospective method).
• Employed linear regression to analyze the effect of truncated partnership data on mean degree.

Main Results:

• Retrospective method yielded similar degree estimates to the current method for recent months.
• Mean degree estimates decreased systematically with the retrospective method as the recall period extended.
• Data truncation significantly underestimated mean degree, particularly for casual partnerships.

Conclusions:

• The retrospective method underestimates mean degree in surveys with truncated data for MSM, especially for casual partnerships.
• The current method, using ongoing partnerships, is less susceptible to bias from partner data truncation.
• Findings are critical for accurate network analysis in HIV/STI research among MSM.