Objective <p>Men who have sex with men in Malaysia face a high HIV burden, but demographic, behavioral, and digital health data remain limited by social constraints. This nationwide, cross-sectional ecological study utilized a grid-based geographic sampling method to systematically collect publicly accessible Grindr profiles across all Malaysian states and federal territories. Population-normalized Grind user rates, profile characteristics, and regional people living with HIV rates were analyzed using Spearman’s rank-order correlation to evaluate whether geosocial networking platform data offer insights into regional HIV epidemiology.</p> Results <p>A significant positive correlation was observed between population-normalized Grindr user rates and PLHIV rates (<i>r</i><sub><i>s</i></sub> = 0.5821, <i>P</i> = 0.0252). While unadjusted analyses showed nominal positive correlations between regional PLHIV rates and specific profile characteristics, none maintained significance following false discovery rate correction (<i>Q</i> = 5%). This lack of post-correction significance is driven by the limited statistical power of the regional sample size (<i>n</i> = 16) and high percentages of profile non-disclosure. Thus, while grid-based sampling systematically assesses digital user density, individual profile characteristics cannot reliably indicate regional HIV prevalence when data omissions are widespread.</p>

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Ecological association between Grindr user characteristics and HIV prevalence in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

  • Hakimi Kassim,
  • Kamarul Ismail,
  • Md Enamul Huq,
  • Hein Htet Aung,
  • Ethan Trey Cardwell,
  • Fabian Yuh Shiong Kong

摘要

Objective

Men who have sex with men in Malaysia face a high HIV burden, but demographic, behavioral, and digital health data remain limited by social constraints. This nationwide, cross-sectional ecological study utilized a grid-based geographic sampling method to systematically collect publicly accessible Grindr profiles across all Malaysian states and federal territories. Population-normalized Grind user rates, profile characteristics, and regional people living with HIV rates were analyzed using Spearman’s rank-order correlation to evaluate whether geosocial networking platform data offer insights into regional HIV epidemiology.

Results

A significant positive correlation was observed between population-normalized Grindr user rates and PLHIV rates (rs = 0.5821, P = 0.0252). While unadjusted analyses showed nominal positive correlations between regional PLHIV rates and specific profile characteristics, none maintained significance following false discovery rate correction (Q = 5%). This lack of post-correction significance is driven by the limited statistical power of the regional sample size (n = 16) and high percentages of profile non-disclosure. Thus, while grid-based sampling systematically assesses digital user density, individual profile characteristics cannot reliably indicate regional HIV prevalence when data omissions are widespread.