{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,6]],"date-time":"2026-09-06T17:45:11Z","timestamp":1788716711974,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"BMJ","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,29]],"date-time":"2026-06-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782691200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000265","name":"Medical Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["MR\/S020462\/2"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MR\/S020462\/2"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000265","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100018336","name":"National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["NIHR200911"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NIHR200911"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100018336","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Sex Transm Infect"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,30]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Sexual decision-making and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention are influenced not only by individuals\u2019 characteristics but also by those of their partners and their relationship with each other. To inform STI prevention and understand transmission dynamics, we aimed to understand sexual partnership demographic assortativity, sexual behaviour, communication and concurrency among UK-resident gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>With community members and organisations, we codesigned a sexual partnerships module for an annual online cross-sectional community-based survey of UK-resident GBMSM (cisgender\/trans\/non-binary assigned-male-at-birth) undertaken November\u2013December 2023. We collected data about \u22643\u2009most recent male sex partners since August 2023 and analysed variations in relative demographic characteristics (age, ethnicity), sexual behaviours (practices, condom use, HIV-pre-exposure prophylaxis (HIV-PrEP use)) and sexual health communication by partner type (one-time, established, casual and uncertain).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>1106 participants described 2342 partners: 12.5%, 20.4%, 9.9% and 57.1%\u2009reporting 0, 1, 2 and 3 partners, respectively, of varying combinations. Casual partner types were most reported (43.2%) versus one-time (36.1%), established (13.9%) and uncertain partnerships (6.8%). Concurrency was common with the mean number of ongoing partnerships &gt;1 (1.23, 95%\u2009CI 1.17 to 1.30). Age-mixing varied by partner type, from median 2 (established partners) to 10 (one-time partners) years difference.<\/jats:p>\n                    <jats:p>Sexual health communication was highest among established partners. It was two times as common to be unaware of one-time partners\u2019 HIV status (66.8%) and not to have discussed sexual health (65.7%) compared with casual partners (30.0% and 27.2%,\u2009respectively). Condom use was low across partner types. HIV-PrEP was always used by HIV-negative participants in two times as many one-time, causal and uncertain partnerships (49.2%, 50.0%, 42.0%) compared with established partnerships (23.3%) involving condomless anal intercourse.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>UK-resident GBMSM have diverse types of male sexual partners, varying in their demographic mixing, sexual behaviour and communication, which should be reflected in sexual health promotion and transmission dynamics analyses.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/sextrans-2025-056865","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,29]],"date-time":"2026-06-29T17:20:44Z","timestamp":1782753644000},"page":"sextrans-2025-056865","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Insights into sexual partners and partnerships among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in the United Kingdom: results from the Reducing Inequalities in Sexual Health (RiiSH) behavioural survey"],"prefix":"10.1136","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5574-251X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elizabeth","family":"Fearon","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infection and Population Health, Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, UK"},{"name":"Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Blood Borne and Sexually Transmitted Infections, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) UCL in partnership with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), London, England, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"David","family":"Etoori","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infection and Population Health, Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, UK"},{"name":"Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Blood Borne and Sexually Transmitted Infections, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) UCL in partnership with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), London, England, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1900-8892","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dana","family":"Ogaz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Blood Borne and Sexually Transmitted Infections, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) UCL in partnership with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), London, England, UK"},{"name":"Blood Safety, Hepatitis, STIs and HIV Division, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Benjamin","family":"Weil","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Love Tank, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Will","family":"Nutland","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Love Tank, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"David","family":"Reid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infection and Population Health, Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, UK"},{"name":"Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Blood Borne and Sexually Transmitted Infections, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) UCL in partnership with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), London, England, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3020-9916","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"John","family":"Saunders","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Blood Borne and Sexually Transmitted Infections, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) UCL in partnership with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), London, England, UK"},{"name":"Blood Safety, Hepatitis, STIs and HIV Division, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2060-7286","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hamish","family":"Mohammed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infection and Population Health, Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, UK"},{"name":"Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Blood Borne and Sexually Transmitted Infections, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) UCL in partnership with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), London, England, UK"},{"name":"Blood Safety, Hepatitis, STIs and HIV Division, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4220-5034","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Catherine H","family":"Mercer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infection and Population Health, Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, UK"},{"name":"Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Blood Borne and Sexually Transmitted Infections, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) UCL in partnership with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), London, England, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S23","DOI":"10.1007\/s10461-012-0294-y","article-title":"Sexual partnership types as determinant of HIV risk in South African MSM: an event-level cluster analysis","volume":"17 Suppl 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Sexually transmitted infections and screening for chlamydia in England: 2023 report, U.H.S. agency. London, United Kingdom, 2024."},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"873","DOI":"10.1016\/S1473-3099(25)00085-4","article-title":"Doxycycline to prevent bacterial sexually transmitted infections in the USA: final results from the DoxyPEP multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial and open-label extension","volume":"25","author":"Luetkemeyer","year":"2025","journal-title":"Lancet Infect Dis"},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/ije\/dyy237"},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.14","unstructured":"Johnson A , et al . National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles, 2010-2012. UK Data Service, 2024."},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/sextrans-2015-052389"},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.16","volume-title":"Knowledge, Uptake and Intention to Use Antibiotic Post-Exposure Prophylaxis and Meningococcal B Vaccine (4CMenB) for Gonorrhoea among a Large, Online Community Sample of Men and Gender-Diverse Individuals Who Have Sex with Men in the UK","volume":"4","author":"Ogaz","year":"2024"},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/sextrans-2020-054846"},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/sextrans-2016-052646"},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/00002030-199705000-00012"},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.epidem.2018.05.003"},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0159162","article-title":"Sexual Behaviour of Men and Women within Age-Disparate Partnerships in South Africa: Implications for Young Women\u2019s HIV Risk","volume":"11","author":"Maughan-Brown","year":"2016","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0129877","article-title":"Disassortative Age-Mixing Does Not Explain Differences in HIV Prevalence between Young White and Black MSM: Findings from Four Studies","volume":"10","author":"Grey","year":"2015","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10508-013-0207-9"},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/13691058.2016.1183824"},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/sextrans-2012-050947"},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"459","DOI":"10.1097\/QAI.0000000000001620","article-title":"Sexual Networks of Racially Diverse Young MSM Differ in Racial Homophily But Not Concurrency","volume":"77","author":"Janulis","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr"},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/19317611.2025.2536248"},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1071\/SH18032"},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.2196\/13766","article-title":"Interaction Patterns of Men Who Have Sex With Men on a Geosocial Networking Mobile App in Seven United States Metropolitan Areas: Observational Study","volume":"21","author":"Abuelezam","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Med Internet Res"},{"key":"2026062910203018000_sextrans-2025-056865v1.30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0291001","article-title":"The relationship between age and sex partner counts during the mpox outbreak in the UK, 2022","volume":"18","author":"Brainard","year":"2023","journal-title":"PLoS One"}],"container-title":["Sexually Transmitted Infections"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.1136\/sextrans-2025-056865","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,29]],"date-time":"2026-06-29T17:20:51Z","timestamp":1782753651000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/sti.bmj.com\/lookup\/doi\/10.1136\/sextrans-2025-056865"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,29]]},"references-count":30,"alternative-id":["10.1136\/sextrans-2025-056865"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/sextrans-2025-056865","relation":{},"ISSN":["1368-4973","1472-3263"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1368-4973","type":"print"},{"value":"1472-3263","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,29]]}}}