Ligia Kerr, Ana Rita Coimbra Motta-Castro, Marto Leal, Rosane da Silva Santana, Rosa Maria Salani Mota, Regina Célia Moreira, Elaine Lopes de Oliveira, Edilene Peres Real da Silveira, Andréa Fachel Leal, Daniela Knauth, Maria Amélia Veras, Ana Maria de Brito, Edgar Merchan-Hamann, Ximena Pamela Diaz Bermudez, Alexandre Kerr Pontes, Raimunda Hermelinda Maia Macena, Luana Nepomuceno Costa Lima, Mark Drew Crosland Guimarães, Inês Dourado, Lisângela Cristina Oliveira, Luis Fernando Macedo Brígido, Ana Roberta Pati Pascom, Carla Kerr Pontes, Laio Magno, Anya Pimentel Gomes Fernandes Vieira-Meyer, Ivana Cristina de Holanda Cunha Barreto, Carl Kendall
This article aims to report the prevalence of syphilis and its associated factors among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Brazil. Respondent-driven sampling was conducted in 12 cities in Brazil between June and December 2016. The target sample size was 350 MSM in each city. Five to six seeds were selected to initiate recruitment and coupons and interviews were conducted online. MSM were considered syphilis-positive if the RST+ and Venereal Disease Research Laboratory results were positive for FTA-Abs. A total of 4176 MSM were recruited. The lifetime prevalence of syphilis was 26.9% (95%CI: 24.0-29.9). The prevalence of active syphilis is 13.2%. Factors associated with active syphilis were as follows: age < 25 years (PR: 1.67, 95%CI: 1.29-2.17), use of mobile dating apps to seek sexual partners (PR: 1.35, 95%CI: 1.01-1.80), and previous diagnosis of sexually transmitted infection (STI) (PR: 1.33, 95%CI: 1.03-1.70). A high prevalence of active syphilis among MSM, particularly young individuals, was found. Approaches to the development of health interventions for MSM STI screening and treatment should be applied.