Syndemic conditions associated with hazardous alcohol consumption among sexual minority men in San Francisco

Background: Hazardous alcohol consumption (HAC) is prevalent among sexual minority men (SMM). Using syndemic theory, this study aimed to identify the number of syndemic conditions, including their combinations, and their association with HAC among SMM in San Francisco. Method: We conducted a seconda...

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Main Authors: Thye Peng Ngo, Taylor Cuffaro, Glenn-Milo Santos
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772724624000817
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author Thye Peng Ngo
Taylor Cuffaro
Glenn-Milo Santos
author_facet Thye Peng Ngo
Taylor Cuffaro
Glenn-Milo Santos
author_sort Thye Peng Ngo
collection DOAJ
description Background: Hazardous alcohol consumption (HAC) is prevalent among sexual minority men (SMM). Using syndemic theory, this study aimed to identify the number of syndemic conditions, including their combinations, and their association with HAC among SMM in San Francisco. Method: We conducted a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from 246 SMM who consume alcohol. Syndemic factors included multiple substance use, depressive symptoms, HIV/STI status, and houselessness. We conducted a multivariable logistic regression to estimate the odds of HAC associated with increasing syndemic conditions. We further examined which combinations of three syndemic factors were associated with the highest odds for HAC. Results: The average age was 40.7; participants were predominantly White (33.3 %) and Black/African American (29.7 %) and graduated from high school (92.7 %). The prevalence of HAC increased with the number of syndemic conditions: 13.6 % with none, 30.9 % with one, 51.9 % with two, 65.1 % with three, and 69.2 % with four conditions. A significant log-linear trend was observed, with two syndemic conditions increasing the odds of HAC over fivefold (AOR=5.05, 95 % CI=1.68–15.15), and three and four syndemic conditions increasing the odds by more than eightfold (AOR=8.82, 95 % CI=2.74–28.39; AOR=8.55, 95 % CI=2.26–32.28). The combination of depressive symptoms, HIV/STI status, and houselessness tripled the odds for HAC (OR=3.07, 95 % CI=1.34–7.04). Conclusion: HAC was associated with increasing syndemics, and specific conditions (depression, HIV/STI, and houselessness) had the greatest odds of HAC. These findings underscore the need for comprehensive screening and integrated interventions targeting these co-occurring conditions to reduce HAC in this population.
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spelling doaj-art-ece51b89d9104a84945c69dd18f41d212025-08-20T02:34:20ZengElsevierDrug and Alcohol Dependence Reports2772-72462024-12-011310029710.1016/j.dadr.2024.100297Syndemic conditions associated with hazardous alcohol consumption among sexual minority men in San FranciscoThye Peng Ngo0Taylor Cuffaro1Glenn-Milo Santos2National Clinician Scholars Program at University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, San Francisco, CA, United States; Correspondence to: National Clinician Scholars Program at UCSF and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Mission Bay Campus Valley Tower, 490 Illinois Street, Floor 7, San Francisco, CA 94158, United States.School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United StatesSchool of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; Division of Prevention Science, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States; Center for Public Health Research, San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco, CA, United StatesBackground: Hazardous alcohol consumption (HAC) is prevalent among sexual minority men (SMM). Using syndemic theory, this study aimed to identify the number of syndemic conditions, including their combinations, and their association with HAC among SMM in San Francisco. Method: We conducted a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from 246 SMM who consume alcohol. Syndemic factors included multiple substance use, depressive symptoms, HIV/STI status, and houselessness. We conducted a multivariable logistic regression to estimate the odds of HAC associated with increasing syndemic conditions. We further examined which combinations of three syndemic factors were associated with the highest odds for HAC. Results: The average age was 40.7; participants were predominantly White (33.3 %) and Black/African American (29.7 %) and graduated from high school (92.7 %). The prevalence of HAC increased with the number of syndemic conditions: 13.6 % with none, 30.9 % with one, 51.9 % with two, 65.1 % with three, and 69.2 % with four conditions. A significant log-linear trend was observed, with two syndemic conditions increasing the odds of HAC over fivefold (AOR=5.05, 95 % CI=1.68–15.15), and three and four syndemic conditions increasing the odds by more than eightfold (AOR=8.82, 95 % CI=2.74–28.39; AOR=8.55, 95 % CI=2.26–32.28). The combination of depressive symptoms, HIV/STI status, and houselessness tripled the odds for HAC (OR=3.07, 95 % CI=1.34–7.04). Conclusion: HAC was associated with increasing syndemics, and specific conditions (depression, HIV/STI, and houselessness) had the greatest odds of HAC. These findings underscore the need for comprehensive screening and integrated interventions targeting these co-occurring conditions to reduce HAC in this population.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772724624000817Hazardous alcohol consumptionSyndemic conditionsSexual minority men
spellingShingle Thye Peng Ngo
Taylor Cuffaro
Glenn-Milo Santos
Syndemic conditions associated with hazardous alcohol consumption among sexual minority men in San Francisco
Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports
Hazardous alcohol consumption
Syndemic conditions
Sexual minority men
title Syndemic conditions associated with hazardous alcohol consumption among sexual minority men in San Francisco
title_full Syndemic conditions associated with hazardous alcohol consumption among sexual minority men in San Francisco
title_fullStr Syndemic conditions associated with hazardous alcohol consumption among sexual minority men in San Francisco
title_full_unstemmed Syndemic conditions associated with hazardous alcohol consumption among sexual minority men in San Francisco
title_short Syndemic conditions associated with hazardous alcohol consumption among sexual minority men in San Francisco
title_sort syndemic conditions associated with hazardous alcohol consumption among sexual minority men in san francisco
topic Hazardous alcohol consumption
Syndemic conditions
Sexual minority men
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772724624000817
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