Exploration of the population size of men who have sex with men in Hainan colleges: A cross-sectional study based on geographical social network App
- 1Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Hainan Academy of Medical Sciences, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, China
- 2Hainan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Haikou, Hainan, China
Abstract
Men who have sex with men (MSM) have historically been a high-risk group for sexually transmitted diseases. In Hainan, the incidence of HIV and syphilis among MSM has increased rapidly. Additionally, there is a growing number of young students being diagnosed with HIV, with MSM identified as the primary demographic affected. However, the size and distribution of the MSM population within colleges and universities in Hainan Province remains unknown. In this study, the Blued App was employed to collect data on users within Hainan colleges and universities from May 9 to May 18, 2023. Using the users information and questionnaire survey data, we applied the multiplier method to estimate the population size of student MSM. Multivariate and geographic density analyses integrating survey data were conducted to identify regional disparities. A questionnaire survey revealed that 89.28% of student MSM reported using the Blued App, and 76.00% of the individuals utilized it for seeking sexual partners. The estimated population size of MSM in colleges across Hainan Province was 3504 (95%CI: 3464–3544), with Haikou and Sanya identified as hotspots. The proportion of active users was 33.13% (860/2596). Notably, Danzhou and Wenchang, relatively small urban areas with limited Blued registrants, exhibited high proportion of active users (42.22% and 41.30%). These findings suggest that particular attention should be directed towards sexual health education, and sexually transmitted disease surveillance in specific colleges.
Related
- Integrated metabolomics, network pharmacology and molecular docking to characterize differences associated with geographical origin and subspecies on the antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibition activity of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.)
- Anchored Exploration in Product Evolution: A Phylogenetic Network Framework for Semiconductor Designs
- EMAP-SSN: An Embedding- and Multiple-Alignment-Integrated Sequence Similarity Network Platform for Interactive Exploration of Protein Sequence Space
- Novelty-seeking and directed exploration scale with dissociable social network outcomes and brain systems in older adults
- Mechanistic Exploration of Wendan Decoction in Hyperlipidemia Treatment: An Integrated Network Pharmacology and Metabolomics Analysis
BibTeX
@article{chen2026exploration,
title = {{Exploration of the population size of men who have sex with men in Hainan colleges: A cross-sectional study based on geographical social network App}},
author = {Shi Chen and Xin Chen and Rui Feng and Guihua Chen and Chunyun Lu and Donghui Zhao and Zhaoqian Wang and Dee Yu},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0358788},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358788},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Exploration of the population size of men who have sex with men in Hainan colleges: A cross-sectional study based on geographical social network App
AU - Shi Chen
AU - Xin Chen
AU - Rui Feng
AU - Guihua Chen
AU - Chunyun Lu
AU - Donghui Zhao
AU - Zhaoqian Wang
AU - Dee Yu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/21
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0358788
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358788
AB - Men who have sex with men (MSM) have historically been a high-risk group for sexually transmitted diseases. In Hainan, the incidence of HIV and syphilis among MSM has increased rapidly. Additionally, there is a growing number of young students being diagnosed with HIV, with MSM identified as the primary demographic affected. However, the size and distribution of the MSM population within colleges and universities in Hainan Province remains unknown. In this study, the Blued App was employed to collect data on users within Hainan colleges and universities from May 9 to May 18, 2023. Using the users information and questionnaire survey data, we applied the multiplier method to estimate the population size of student MSM. Multivariate and geographic density analyses integrating survey data were conducted to identify regional disparities. A questionnaire survey revealed that 89.28% of student MSM reported using the Blued App, and 76.00% of the individuals utilized it for seeking sexual partners. The estimated population size of MSM in colleges across Hainan Province was 3504 (95%CI: 3464–3544), with Haikou and Sanya identified as hotspots. The proportion of active users was 33.13% (860/2596). Notably, Danzhou and Wenchang, relatively small urban areas with limited Blued registrants, exhibited high proportion of active users (42.22% and 41.30%). These findings suggest that particular attention should be directed towards sexual health education, and sexually transmitted disease surveillance in specific colleges.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -