Page 27 - IJPS-10-4

International Journal of
Population Studies Chemsex among MSM during the COVID-19 pandemic

Data retrieved via database exploration (n = 1,383)
(ScienceDirect = 162, ProQuest = 38, Google Scholar = 527, Scopus = 206,
PubMed = 312, Sematic Scholar = 55, CINAHL = 80, ThaiJo = 3)

Data post-elimination of repetitions
(n = 792)

Data with screened headings Data discarded
(n = 792) (n = 385)

Data with examined Data excluded; justification
summaries provided—does not cover the
(n = 407) COVID-19 pandemic
(n = 383)

Comprehensive articles Full-text articles dismissed, with
evaluated for appropriateness provided reasons
(n = 24) (n = 3*)
*1: non-English or non-Thai
language, 1: Full text not accessible,
and 1: Irrelevant article types
Studies incorporated into the
analysis
(n = 21)
Figure 1. The flowchart depicting the selection process

The continents covered in this review were the USA, showed a mixed picture in the USA, with an equal number
Europe, Australia, and China. of men from the focus group reporting both an increase
Starting with the USA, research by Sanchez et al. (2020) and a decrease in stimulant usage during the isolation
showcased an upward trend in substance consumption period, hinting at differing consequences of the pandemic
on drug-influenced sexual conduct.
within the MSM community throughout the COVID-19
health crisis. Ten percentage of the respondents admitted Examining research focused on Brazil and Portugal,
to escalated recreational drug use, and a quarter research by Sousa et al. (2020) pointed out an increased
acknowledged an increase in their alcohol consumption. prevalence of drug-facilitated intimate behaviors within
In particular, younger individuals were discovered to be the MSM community amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
more inclined to increase their drug and alcohol intake in Similarly, a study by Torres et al. (2021) in Brazil revealed
response to the global epidemic. Contradictorily, Starks an upsurge in the intake of recreational drugs during the
et al. (2020) reported a marked decline in substance use period of enforced social distancing within the MSM
among sexual minority men in the USA, with marijuana community, as well as the transgender and non-binary
consumption falling from 45.7% before the COVID-19 communities, with marijuana and cocaine being the most
pandemic to 34.5% during the COVID-19 pandemic. In frequently used substances (p < 0.001). For instance, 29.7%
addition, the use of other illicit drugs dropped dramatically of participants revealed an increase in alcohol consumption,
from 22.9% to 11.0% throughout the period. A similar 49.4% showed an inclination toward increased tobacco
downward trend in drug-involved sexual behavior was consumption during the quarantine measures, and 30.4%
reported by Gómez-Castro et al. (2022) in Mexico, where were more involved in recreational drug use during the
22.6% of participants decreased their recreational drug use lockdown phase.
during sex throughout the confinement phase. In addition, Turning to Europe, Chone et al. (2021) conducted a
a Canadian study revealed a significant decrease in alcohol study in Portugal during the COVID-19 health crisis,
consumption from 81.3% before the COVID-19 pandemic focusing on a cohort of MSM. Hyndman et al. (2021)
to 73.3% after the pandemic began (Charest, 2021). On the found that COVID-19 guidelines in the United Kingdom
other hand, an intriguing study by Petrova et al. (2022) influenced drug use among MSM, leading to a greater

Volume 10 Issue 4 (2024) 21 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.2599