Sexual network and detection of anogenital human papillomavirus in a community cohort of men who have sex with men in Taiwan

OBJECTIVES: We examined the association between anogenital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and sexual networks in men who have sex with men (MSM). METHODS: A total of 253 MSM, 20 years of age and older, were recruited from the community in Southern Taiwan in 2015–2016. At baseline and at each follow-up visit, MSM were screened for HPV to identify 37 HPV genotypes. At the six-month follow-up, MSM were asked to fill out an egocentric network assessment and to report the last five persons with whom they had sex regarding the characteristics of sexual behavior with each network member. RESULTS: A total of 182 participants (71.9%) returned for the follow-up and one third had at least one HPV type detected. A higher level of bridging network position calculated by the level of constraints in the network was significantly less likely to have HPV detection at the anal site. A high level of concurrency was associated with penile HPV detection (AOR = 3.16, 95% CI = 1.01–9.86). CONCLUSIONS: Identifying network-related characteristics can advance our understanding of high-risk populations and for prioritizing HPV vaccine recommendations.