Clinical and socio-demographic characteristics associated with the severity of chemsex practice (2026)

SETTING: Chemsex addiction is a public health issue, with increasing prevalence worldwide in recent years. The comorbidities and complications associated with this behavior are numerous.
AIMS: The objective of this cohort study was to specifically and accurately describe the psychiatric, addictive, and infectious comorbidities of participants attending the addiction department at Bichat Hospital.
DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional descriptive cohort study assessing the presence of psychiatric, addictive, and infectious symptoms in patients seeking addiction care for chemsex-related issues.
MEASUREMENTS: The evaluation was conducted through self-administered questionnaires.
PARTICIPANTS: 51 participants were included. They were men who have sex with men (MSM), with a median age of 35 [24-62] years old, and 74.5% were professionally active.
FINDINGS: A quarter (25.4%) had a psychiatric history before seeking care for chemsex-related issues. More than half were living with HIV. Reported negative consequences included the loss of substance-free sexuality (70.6% of cases) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the past year (54.9%). Regarding psychiatric symptoms, 54.9% reported suicidal thoughts and delusional ideas, 86.3% met the criteria for severe chemsex addiction, 47.1% exhibited severe anxiety symptoms, and 31.4% had severe depressive symptoms.
CONCLUSION: In this study including participants seeking care for chemsex addiction, the presence of frequent depressive, anxious, and psychotic symptoms was identified These results highlight the importance of a multidisciplinary and specialized approach to care. [Author's abstract]