Clinical and Socio-Demographic Characteristics Associated with the Severity of Chemsex Practice

Chemsex addiction is a public health issue, with increasing prevalence worldwide in recent years. The comorbidities and complications associated with this behavior are numerous.

The objective of this cohort study was to specifically and accurately describe the psychiatric, addictive, and infectious comorbidities of participants attending the addiction department at Bichat Hospital.

This was a cross-sectional descriptive cohort study assessing the presence of psychiatric, addictive, and infectious symptoms in patients seeking addiction care for chemsex-related issues.

The evaluation was conducted through self-administered questionnaires.

51 participants were included. They were men who have sex with men (MSM), with a median age of 35 [24-62] years old, and 74.5% were professionally active.

A quarter (25.4%) had a psychiatric history before seeking care for chemsex-related issues. More than half were living with HIV. Reported negative consequences included the loss of substance-free sexuality (70.6% of cases) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the past year (54.9%). Regarding psychiatric symptoms, 54.9% reported suicidal thoughts and delusional ideas, 86.3% met the criteria for severe chemsex addiction, 47.1% exhibited severe anxiety symptoms, and 31.4% had severe depressive symptoms.

In this study including participants seeking care for chemsex addiction, the presence of frequent depressive, anxious, and psychotic symptoms was identified These results highlight the importance of a multidisciplinary and specialized approach to care.