Risk Prediction Score for Screening Asymptomatic Sexually Transmitted Infections in HIV-positive French Men Who Have Sex with Men (ANRS 9520 DRIVER)

Abstract

Objectives: Asymptomatic sexually transmitted infections (STI) are frequent among men who have sex with men (MSM). Identifying asymptomatic STIs is a crucial issue, not only for secondary but also for primary prevention, as early treatment can reduce transmission risk. We aimed to develop a self-reported predictive score for early identification of asymptomatic STIs.

Methods: Participants provided clinical data and completed a self-administered questionnaire including sociodemographic variables and behaviors during the 6 previous months. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with asymptomatic STIs. We calculated the accuracy of the model by the non-parametric area (AUC) under the receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) curve to find the optimal discriminant threshold for screening.

Results: A total of 781 HIV-positive MSM were included with a mean age of 46.8 years. Asymptomatic STI prevalence was 13.2%. Detectable plasma HIV RNA (adjusted odds ratio (aOR [95% CI): 2.54 [1.23;5.25]), inconsistent condom use during anal sex (2.20 [1.36;3.56]), group sex (2.00 [1.15;3.45]), during or-genital practices (1.83 [1.12;3.01]), not being in stable relationship (1.70 [1.01;2.66] and an item from a sensation-seeking behavioral scale "I don't like watching porn videos" (1.61 [1.01;2.59] were associated with asymptomatic STI. AUC was 0.7 and with optimal threshold of 0.1082 for this model; sensitivity was 80.4%. Self-reported asymptomatic STI predictive score was built with this threshold according to the 6 factors in the final model.

Conclusions: As this predictive score is not designed to be diagnostic, but to provide indications for diagnostic tests, its ease of administration and sensitivity remain the most important features. Its use in clinical practice for early detection of asymptomatic STIs potentially can reinforce STI primary and secondary prevention.