A study of mental health status of men who have sex with men in Ahmedabad city

BACKGROUND: Men who have sex with men (MSM), a unique group of people, feel, and believe they will face hardships in society once their identity is disclosed, but this does not deter them from dressing and behaving like the opposite sex in public life or fighting for their rights. OBJECTIVES: To study the mental health status of MSM and their determinants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 410 MSM in the drop in centers of non-governmental organization working for MSM in Ahmedabad city through purposive sampling. RESULTS: Prevalence of psychiatric morbidity was 52.9%. The mean score obtained in anxiety/insomnia subscale (5.4 ± 4.2) and severe depression (5.4 ± 4.6) was higher than other two subscale somatic symptoms (4.0 ± 3.2) and social dysfunction symptoms (4.6 ± 3.8). Among General Health Questionnaire 28 questions, “more MSM had a more than usual feeling” that they are “getting difficulty in staying asleep once you are off”, “lost much sleep over worry”, “been getting edgy and bad tempered”, “felt constantly under strain”, “been feeling nervous and strung-up all time.” Prevalence of psychiatric morbidity is more in never married MSM and also in less educated MSM. MSM with sexually transmitted infection (STI) symptoms suffer from psychiatric illness more than MSM who didn’t have STI symptoms. CONCLUSION: Various determinants like partner characteristic, presence of STI symptoms, marital status, and living arrangement affect the mental health of MSM.