JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

The American Men’s Internet Survey (AMIS) is an annual Web-based behavioral survey of men who have sex with men (MSM) who live in the United States. This Rapid Surveillance Report describes the sixth cycle of data collection (September 2018 to December 2018; AMIS 2018). The key indicators are the same as those previously reported for past AMIS cycles (December 2013 to May 2014: AMIS 2013; November 2014 to April 2015: AMIS 2014; September 2015 to April 2016: AMIS 2015; September 2016 to February 2017: AMIS 2016; and July 2017 through November 2017: AMIS 2017). The AMIS methodology has not substantively changed since AMIS 2017. The MSM were recruited from a variety of websites using banner advertisements and email blasts. Additionally, participants from AMIS 2017 who agreed to be recontacted for future research were emailed a link to AMIS 2018. Men were eligible to participate if they were aged ≥15 years, resided in the United States, provided a valid US zone improvement plan code, and reported ever having sex with a man or identified as gay or bisexual. The analysis was limited to those who reported having oral or anal sex with a male partner in the past 12 months. We examined demographic and recruitment characteristics using multivariable regression modeling (P<.05) stratified by the participants’ self-reported HIV status. The AMIS 2018 round of data collection resulted in 10,129 completed surveys from MSM representing every US state, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Participants were mainly non-Hispanic white, between the ages of 15-24, living in the Southern United States and urban areas, and recruited from general social networking websites. The plurality (4230/10,129, 41.8%) of participants was in the youngest age group, 15-24 years, followed by 40 years and older age group (3088/10,129, 30.5%). Self-reported HIV prevalence was 6.1% (616/10,129). Compared with HIV-negative or unknown-status participants, HIV-positive participants were more likely to have had anal sex without a condom with a male partner in the past 12 months (aOR 2.02, 95% CI 1.63-2.50) and more likely to have had anal sex without a condom with a serodiscordant or an unknown-status partner (aOR 3.90, 95% CI 3.27-4.66). The reported use of marijuana in the past 12 months was higher among HIV-positive participants than HIV-negative or unknown status participants (aOR 1.39, 95% CI 1.15-1.68). The reported use of methamphetamines and other illicit substances in the past 12 months was higher among HIV-positive participants than HIV-negative or unknown status participants (aOR 3.42, 95% CI 2.41-4.87 and aOR 1.90, 95% CI 1.56-2.32, respectively). Most HIV-negative or unknown status participants (6838/9513, 71.9%) reported ever taking an HIV test previously, and 52.5% (4995/9513) reported undergoing HIV testing in the past 12 months. HIV-positive participants were more likely to report testing and diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections than HIV-negative or unknown status participants (aOR 3.50, 95% CI 2.89-4.24 and aOR 2.61, 95% CI 2.10-3.25, respectively).