{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T05:09:59Z","timestamp":1790744999467,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,13]],"date-time":"2021-12-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1639353600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:p><jats:bold>Background:<\/jats:bold> The disease burden of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in HIV-positive and HIV-negative men who have sex with men (MSM) is changing. We aim to provide an updated comprehensive estimate of HCV prevalence and incidence among the HIV-positive and HIV-negative MSM population at the country, regional, and global levels and their changing trends over time.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Methods:<\/jats:bold> PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and conference databases were searched and eligible records on the prevalence and incidence of HCV antibodies were selected and pooled <jats:italic>via<\/jats:italic> a random-effects model. Meta-regression was performed to demonstrate the association between the pooled rates and study year.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Results:<\/jats:bold> A total of 230 articles reporting 245 records from 51 countries with 445,883 participants and 704,249 follow-up person-years were included. The pooled prevalence of HCV in MSM was 5.9% (95% CI: 5.1\u20136.8), with substantial differences between countries and regions. Low- and lower-middle-income countries (12.3 and 7.0%) manifested a larger disease burden than high- and upper-middle-income countries (5.8 and 3.8%). HCV prevalence in HIV-positive MSM was substantially higher than in HIV-negative MSM (8.1 vs. 2.8%, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.001). The pooled incidence of HCV was 8.6 (95% CI: 7.2\u201310.0) per 1,000 person-years, with an increasing trend over time, according to meta-regression (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.05).<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Conclusion:<\/jats:bold> Global HCV prevalence in MSM varies by region and HIV status. Behavior counseling and regular HCV monitoring are needed in HIV-positive subgroups and high-risk regions. Given the upward trend of HCV incidence and sexual risk behaviors, there is also a continued need to reinforce risk-reduction intervention.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Systematic Review Registration:<\/jats:bold> PROSPERO, identifier CRD42020211028; <jats:ext-link>https:\/\/www.crd.york.ac.uk\/prospero\/<\/jats:ext-link>.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2021.774793","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,13]],"date-time":"2021-12-13T09:52:35Z","timestamp":1639389155000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["Global Burden and Changing Trend of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in HIV-Positive and HIV-Negative MSM: A Systematic Review and 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